Matthew 5:6 - Appetite for righteousness

Ti Do Una Pizza, Florence

The fourth blessing in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount reads:
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (Matthew 5:6, New American Standard Bible, 1995)

Put another way,
"Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for what is right. They will be filled." (New International Reader's Version)

"Righteousness" (δικαιοσύνη) means uprightness. It connotes justice, mercy, charitableness. [BAGD] Am I passionate to have these things in my life? In the world around me?

Sometimes it helps to understand what something IS by what it is NOT.  Jesus later clarified in this Sermon:
"But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!" (Matthew 5:20, New Living Translation).

Pharisees were experts on the topic of right and righteousness. And they let everyone know it.

So Jesus warned,
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 6:1, NASB95)

Righteousness is more than looking good, it comes from inward, deep longing for what is decent, just, merciful... and right. Doctors are concerned when someone has an ongoing loss of appetite for good food!

Of course, my mother warned me as a boy that I could "spoil my appetite" by snacking before a meal. An appetite for righteousness can be spoiled when we settle for a substitute instead of the ultimate good. And what is good?

Jesus said, "There is no one good but God." (Matthew 19:17) So The Message paraphrase of this blessing is very fitting: 

"You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat." (The Message)

Father in heaven,
I can't skip eating for too long or I start looking for something to munch on. Thank you for giving me a hunger within, but don't let me settle for "snacks." Increase my appetite for You and Your goodness, a desire that cannot be satisfied with anything less than Your kingdom and Your righteousness, and everything else I need will fall into place. (Matthew 6:33) In Jesus' name, Amen.