When The Righteous Increase

[Pastor S. Hyatt]

The Bible says, "When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan." (Proverbs 29:2, NAS) If you look around the world, you will witness the truth in the latter part of that adage. The current pain and strife under Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Kim Jong-il in North Korea, Muammar Qadaffi in Libya, and others in similar situations reveal the “groaning” of the people as they suffer under the oppression of blatantly evil rulers. Despite the real hardships felt in countries with more pervasive Christianity, there is clearly more freedom and opportunity.
 
Notice that the first part of the proverb does not say, “When a righteous leader reigns,” but “When the righteous increase….” Free nations don’t necessarily have to be led by a righteous person, although that is certainly better and more desirable. What nations desperately need is an increase in righteous people.
 
Jesus told his followers, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit," (Matthew 28:19, NAS) It’s easy to focus on the “go” part of that and imagine it’s a calling to overseas mission work. While it is certainly inclusive of that, the real call to action is in the phrase “make disciples.” This is something we do in “all the nations,” including our own. There is no believer who cannot fulfill this command. When we do, the righteous increase and the people are happier.
 
So what constitutes a more righteous people? It certainly does not mean self-righteousness. Our only authentic righteousness comes from Jesus Christ. When people choose to serve Him, the righteous increase. That’s why we make disciples. In addition, righteousness is not religiousness. Just look at the hard-line Islamic republic in Iran, the predominantly-Catholic Mexico, or the 95-percent Buddhist nation of Thailand. All suffer, whether from violence, oppression, human trafficking, poverty or other social ills. The level of blessing in any country directly correlates to the level of genuine Christian influence among the people, not the manmade institutions designed to define God.