[Jesus speaking]
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭31‬-‭34‬
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

When I think of the villains in so many books we read and movies we watch, they are usually very driven people. Lex Luther was a business tycoon and craved wealth to an unhealthy level. He was driven by the Lust of the Eyes.

In The Man in the Iron Mask, the twin who stole the throne couldn’t bear the sight of his brother. Why? Because it reminded him of his sin in placing power and position over his family relationships and love. He had a chief motive of the Pride of Life.

And in my favorite book, The Count of Monte Cristo, both Edmond and Fernand loved the beautiful Mercedes. She loved Edmond, and Fernand could not bear it. So when the opportunity arose, he accused him of being a traitor. He was motivated by the Lust of the Flesh. The ruler, Gerard de Villafort, in reading the letter intended to condemn Edmond, saw his father’s name as the real traitor in the letter and destroyed this evidence by burning it up, sending Edmond to prison in his place. He was motivated by the Pride of Life.

What am I driven by? What deep down hunger am I relentlessly in search of, for fulfillment in life, like a man starving for food? Will what I search for satisfy the hunger of my soul?

Today I hear the same sources of sexual pleasure, money, and power as the root of so much of the pursuits of this world. And people like to ask the question: “As long as it makes you happy, right?” The problem with happiness being a goal, is it is a fleeting one because it is based on a feeling. Now we can fake happiness, and even develop unhealthy happiness sources, doing evil or ungodly things. In the end, this happiness (above all else) pursuit does not please God. Instead, it becomes a god in place of him.

Instead, I am to pursue righteousness (or another way to put this is “right standing with God”) by being obedient to his Word. We have sinned and missed the initial mark God set out for us, perfection. So he sent Jesus, his only Son, to die for our sins as a payment. He is the symbolic pure and unblemished lamb for us — the Lamb of God. He gives us a new way to relationship with God — Grace.

And when I receive this grace, I am to receive it with a complete and total surrender of our will to God’s will — this is called faith. My intention is to follow him with all we are. This is the pursuit of righteousness. This is an intense hunger and thirst after the holy ways of God. Am I trusting him to provide all I need as a committed follower? This is what it means to be a Christ-follower!

Lord, help me to seek after you first, to place you on the throne of my life every day. You love me, you made me for greatness, and you called me out of my sin and into your family. Thank you so much for this great gift you’ve given me. I will not waste it. Instead, I will pursue the riches of this gift more and more each day.