“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” — Proverbs 21:3

To do righteousness and justice, more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice — more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. We know through the Scriptures, throughout the history of God’s people, that they brought sacrifices unto the Lord for various reasons, at various times, and for various purposes.

Under the old covenant, sacrifice was a necessity, because all of the sacrifices pointed toward the supreme sacrifice that one day would be made — the sacrifice that God Himself would provide. That would be the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who laid His life down as the supreme, the ultimate sacrifice — the only sacrifice that could ever take away sin. So the sacrifices of old foretold that which was to come. They were an indication that God would one day do that very thing — but He would do it perfectly.

So yes, sacrifice was important. But God said there was something more important than sacrifice. We read in 1 Samuel 15:22 where it says, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” There we see the prophet Samuel talking to Saul and confronting him because he did not follow the commandment of the Lord. Saul tried to tell Samuel that what he had preserved — what God told him to destroy — was for a sacrifice unto the Lord. But Samuel told him, “That’s not it. That’s not what God is looking for.” God was looking for obedience, not another sacrifice.

And we know that the commandment of the Lord is life everlasting. To follow His commands leads us in the path of life.

Righteousness, the dictionary tells us, is the quality or state of being morally and ethically upright. It is often defined in a religious context as having a right relationship with God. And if I may interject — we know that a right relationship with God only comes through faith in Christ Jesus. God provided Jesus as the means of us becoming right with Him. His life, His body, His blood, His sacrifice made the atonement — made us one again with God when we receive Him.

The sacrifice was made for everyone, but the benefits and the blessings are received by those who receive Him. “To as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons and daughters of God.”

Righteousness can also refer to acting justly, honestly, and virtuously. It is viewed as being the opposite of sin. It involves living according to moral and divine law — in our case, divine law — and being a person of integrity. Righteousness is the quality of being morally right or justifiable. And we know that God has justified us. We don’t seek to be justified by people, because God is the one who has justified us by our faith in Christ Jesus.

Righteousness is not merely our right relationship with God — it’s doing right. Doing right, first and foremost, in the sight of God. Because what is right in the sight of man may not be right in the sight of God.

We see this throughout Scripture. The apostles, on the day of Pentecost, were proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the work He had accomplished. Peter was preaching, and after the man at the Gate Beautiful was healed, Peter and John were threatened not to speak in Jesus’ name anymore.

The religious leaders told them not to speak or teach in that name, but Peter and John answered, “You judge whether it is right to obey you or to obey God.” And it is always right to obey God. Sometimes obeying God may not put you in the best light in the sight of people, but hopefully those in leadership will recognize when an individual is following God — even if it goes beyond what was expected of them.

It is more important to do justice, to do righteousness, to do justice. Justice is just behavior or treatment. It coincides with fairness — impartial and just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination. That’s what we look for. We look for justice, especially when a judgment is being made.

We know in our land we have court systems — the Supreme Court, state courts, local judges — and we look for their judgments to be fair and impartial, without favoritism or discrimination. That is hard to find, but God expects that of us. That is how we are to operate as His children. We are to treat everyone the same. With God’s help, we can do that. Of course, we’ll have people who are closer to us than others, but it should never cause us to treat anyone unfairly.

Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God. That’s what He requires.

To do righteousness is to do that which is right in the sight of the Lord — and of course, that’s according to God’s Word. God looks at our heart. If there is a desire to obey God within a person’s heart, it is more likely that person will do that which pleases Him. When we have knowledge of His Word and are sensitive to the leading of His Spirit, the outcome should be actions of righteousness — actions pleasing to God.

This is done out in the open before others and also behind the scenes. We don’t need an audience or someone pushing us to do right. When we have God’s Word and His Spirit leading us, righteousness should be the outcome. Justice should be the outcome. As we follow the instructions and the leading of the Lord, it’s done both in the presence of all and when it’s just God and us.

So that’s what we’re striving for — to do righteousness and to do justice, to do the right thing. Doing the right thing is seen in many ways — following the Lord’s instructions, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the Scripture tells us, being a giving people as the Word instructs.

The Scripture tells us to give — and how to give. We’re to give not grudgingly but cheerfully. God loves a cheerful giver. He’s not looking for us to come saying, “Oh, they’re calling for tithes and offerings again.” No — that’s what the Word of God instructs us to do. We give not out of compulsion, but because we want to. Under the law, there were things that were mandated, but under grace, we do what we do out of love. We do it because we love the Lord and there’s a desire in our heart to obey Him, a desire to please Him.

We’re not afraid of a curse — the curse has been dealt with. We give because we love the Lord. We serve the Lord because we love Him and want to please Him. God gives us assignments and instructions, and it’s up to us to follow them. Sometimes it’s visiting the sick, sometimes going to hospitals, praying for people, doing whatever the Lord leads you to do. Do righteousness — do that which is right where He leads you.

God is leading us in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake. Because we bear His name, He leads us to do what is right, what is just, and what is honorable in His sight. So as the Scripture says, whatever we do, let us do it wholeheartedly as unto the Lord.

Father, we thank You this morning. We thank You that You lead us in the path of righteousness for Your name’s sake. And Father, we know that path is a moral path, a narrow path — not the broad way. But it is the path that leads to everlasting life. For this we are thankful. We praise You for it all. We give You honor, we give You glory, and we give You praise. In Jesus’ name, Amen.