Nehemiah 9:8 “You have kept your promise because you are righteous.”

Reading the Bible in two languages really makes you think in ways that aren’t obvious to a monolingual person. Japanese has a very good word for righteousness, as a noun, but when it comes to what in English is simply the adjective form of the same word, righteous, Japanese  says, “correct.” Of course “right,” or correct, is the root of the English terminology, but we don’t necessarily think about the connection. Coming to this verse, it should be completely obvious that God does things right. However, human beings are forever accusing God of getting things wrong! A fundamental element of repentance is acknowledging before God that He’s right and we’re not. That really sticks in the craw of some people! We become experts at excuses very early on, in our individual lives and in the history of mankind. After all, it started in the Garden of Eden, when Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent! This is intimately connected with our pride, which is at the root of all sorts of sin. (1 John 2:16) Coming “right” down to it, to be right before God, we have to acknowledge that He is right, period. By His grace we may be right, but never in opposition to Him.

I have been a real master at making excuses most of my life. I have quite a track record of not responding well to correction, and it has been a real hindrance to my spiritual and emotional growth. That has been complicated by the quirk of Japanese culture that blurs the line between a reason and an excuse. If someone is offended by your actions and you try to explain how it happened, they are very likely to be even more offended, because you are “excusing” yourself. You are supposed to hang your head and say, “I was wrong. I’m sorry.” Before God, that’s the right attitude, but people aren’t God! A common expression in Japanese is, “I have no excuse.” We need to practice that, and mean it, before God! However, things aren’t so simple in interpersonal relationships, because none of us are God. I had someone leave the church over an offense that to this day I don’t know what it was. They were increasingly offended because I didn’t know what I had done, and no one else could explain it to me either! I need to remember that ultimately only God is right, and only in Christ can I be right, and so let His grace flow through me.

Father, this is certainly an ongoing issue. Help me let go of my “right to be right” (now there’s a problem with the English language!) and accept the gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ my Lord, (1 Corinthians 1:30) so that Your grace and love may flow through me unhindered, for the blessing and salvation of many. Thank You. Praise God!