“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” — Matthew 5:6 “For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” — Ecclesiastes 1:18 “…much study is a weariness of the flesh.” — Ecclesiastes 12:12 “And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” — Ecclesiastes 2:10–11 “So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me…” — Ecclesiastes 2:17–18 “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?” — Ecclesiastes 5:10–11 “…one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches…” — Ecclesiastes 4:8 “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” — Ecclesiastes 12:13 “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” — Ecclesiastes 12:14 The reason we don’t hunger for the things of God is because we fill up on all the wrong things. Sin will always taste good, but it will never satisfy. “…(Moses) choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” — Hebrews 11:25 “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!” — Psalm 34:8 “…may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” — Ephesians 3:18–19 What is Righteousness? 1. Righteousness is right standing with God. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” — Romans 5:6–11 2. Righteousness is right living on earth. The natural man hungers for the things of God, whereas the true disciple hungers for God, himself. “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” — Psalm 63:1 “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.” — Proverbs 21:21 “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” — Romans 1:17 “…whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith…” — Romans 3:25