If There is Righteousness in the Heart – Daily Meditation 2.20.24

Today’s Quotation:

If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character.  If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home.  If there is harmony in the home, the nation will have order.  When there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world. -unattributed

Today’s Meditation on If There is Righteousness:

What’s in my heart?  I know there’s some righteousness, but I’m not sure that it’s always there for everyone to see.  Other things get in their way, and thus, it’s possible that the beauty in my character isn’t able to shine as it should be able to shine.  Does that mean that its lack of ability to shine affects my character?  Probably.  This means that my character’s lack of ability to shine affects my home and so on.

This is a pretty strong statement, for it puts the responsibility for world peace squarely on the shoulders of all of us as individuals.  If we can claim the righteousness that is in our hearts and allow it to be our guiding force in life, we can ultimately cause peace in the world.  The righteousness is there, but we must make it one of the guiding forces of our lives if it’s to have any power.  It’s like a car in the driveway–if we don’t turn it on, put it in gear, and give the engine gas, then where can it take us?

I must remember that there is no “universal righteousness.”  What is righteous for me may not be so for you, and that’s okay as long as we’re not hurting others.  We each have our own hearts, thoughts, and drives, and we must be true to what we know inside to be true.  While priests and ministers can talk a lot about what constitutes righteousness, the bottom line is what we know in our hearts to be right and true.

Find the righteousness in your heart, and live by it.  It’s not always the easiest thing to find because fear and doubt do their best to keep it hidden, but it is always there.  And if we live by it, we’re giving a great gift to the world.

Questions to ponder If There is Righteousness:

1.  How can one person’s righteousness affect the entire world?

2.  Do we always see the results of righteous living?  What might some of the unseen results be?

3.  Do you know people who live righteous lives?  What are their lives like?

For further thought, If There is Righteousness:

We all have choices to make about the quality of our presence and how we will affect those around us.  The quality of our presence depends not on what we can or cannot “do” but on the essence of who we are and how we relate to others.  Becoming the presence we would like to be is an intentional work.  It grows while we make peace with ourselves and with life.-Sallirae Henderson

If you missed our last Daily Meditation, it is here.