Human beings are all basically wired up the same. I have traveled around the world and this is one of the most fundamental things I have discovered. Some human beings do tremendous good in the world. Some do irreparable harm. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. Human cultures have different traditions, customs, governmental structures, but these differences are incidental. Human beings all basically want the same thing: to be fulfilled, happy, at peace. This is culturally universal.
The good news is that all we have to do to be at peace is to be righteous rather than unrighteous. The psalmist says so in Psalm 1. And the better news is that righteousness is our natural state. Unrighteousness consists of those acts and omissions that arise out of fear and guilt. And fear and guilt arises out of a misunderstanding of who we are. Fear results from not realizing that we have nothing to fear; that nothing that really matters can ever be taken from us: we are eternal beings who are God's children. Guilt results from not understanding that God's forgiveness has no limits for those who turn to him.
Righteousness simply is the absence of fear and guilt. When these things are taken away, everything else takes care of itself.
Supporting the work and mission of Caney Spring United Methodist Church and Berlin United Methodist Church, two churches partnered in the ministry of making disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world, located in Marshall County, Tennessee.
