#righteousness

The nice people do not come to God, because they think they are good through their own merits or bad through inherited instincts. If they do good, they believe they are to receive the credit for it; if they do evil, they deny that it is their own fault. They are good through their own goodheartedness, they say; but they are bad because they are misfortunate, either in their economic life or through an inheritance of evil genes from their grandparents. The nice people rarely come to God; they take their moral tone from the society in which they live. Like the Pharisee in front of the temple, they believe themselves to be very respectable citizens. Elegance is their test of virtue; to them, the moral is the aesthetic, the evil is the ugly. Every move they make is dictated, not by a love of goodness, but by the influence of their age. Their intellects are cultivated—in knowledge of current events; they read only the bestsellers, but their hearts are undisciplined. They say that they would go to church if the Church were only better—but they never tell you how much better the Church must be before they will join it. They sometimes condemn the gross sins of society, such as murder; they are not tempted to these because they fear the opprobrium which comes to them who commit them. By avoiding the sins which society condemns, they escape reproach, they consider themselves good par excellence. ↗

— Fulton J. Sheen

#self-righteousness #sin #worldliness #age

The philosophies of men surround us. The face of sin today often wears the mask of tolerance. Do not be deceived; behind that facade is heartache, unhappiness, and pain. You know what is right and what is wrong, and no disguise, however appealing, can change that. Be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone. Have the moral courage to be a light for others to follow. ↗

— Thomas S. Monson

#inspiration #morality #righteousness #change

If you see oppression of the poor, and justice and righteousness trampled in a country, do not be astounded. ↗

— King Solomon

#country #justice #oppression #poor #righteousness

Grace makes us inwardly RIGHT so we walk outwardly UPRIGHT ↗

— John Paul Warren

#christian #church #faith #gospel #grace

In God's eyes, a man who teaches one truth and nothing else is more righteous than a man who teaches a million truths and one lie. ↗

— Criss Jami

#divine #divinity #faith #freedom-of-thought #god

People like us, we think differently, don't we? We are different. We do all the things that others do. But when it comes down to it, we don't need anyone else. We're happy doing what we do and having obligation interferes with that. And sometimes I think we don't even need ourselves. What's most important is to find out whether we're right or not. ↗

— Simon Morden

#obligation #reflection #righteousness #self-discovery #self-esteem

The woman must be restored to her rightful place, as the strong, loving maternal leader of peace and reason. ↗

— Bryant McGill

#righteousness #strong-women #love

'Occupy' is nothing but a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists, an unruly mob, fed by Woodstock-era nostalgia and putrid false righteousness. These clowns can do nothing but harm America. ↗

— Frank Miller

#clowns #false #fed #harm #mob

To make your people understand what righteousness is, this must be the basis of all your teaching. ↗

— Joseph Barber Lightfoot

#make #must #our people #people #righteousness

Man approaches God most nearly when he is in one sense least like God. For what can be more unlike than fullness and need, sovereignty and humility, righteousness and penitence, limitless power and a cry for help? ↗

— C.S. Lewis

#humility #penitence #righteousness #sovereignty #love