Are you Righteous?

[Elliott5779]

in my faith we are told not to veiw ourselves as wicked. Even so, i certainly don't veiw myself as righteous either. Not quite sure how to perceive myself.

Wondering what other religions say regarding how one should perceive themselves and how people actually feel about themselves.

 

[Axe Elf]

I am a human being, and as such, I struggle to overcome my human nature of selfishness and act out of love on a daily basis, with varying degrees of success. I recognize that my human nature fundamentally separates me from God, but I am thankful that God has provided a mechanism to bridge that gap and bring me into His presence again.

So in short, I feel human, and therefore imperfect--but I also feel forgiven--restored by God's grace.

 

[Woberts]

I've been purging heretics better than @The Emperor of Mankind ever could since 1100 AD.

 

[Nakosis]

in my faith we are told not to veiw ourselves as wicked. Even so, i certainly don't veiw myself as righteous either. Not quite sure how to perceive myself.

Wondering what other religions say regarding how one should perceive themselves and how people actually feel about themselves.

I view myself as doing the best I can with whatever knowledge and resources I have at hand. I don't know how anyone could expect any more out of me and/or if they do, then I'm not their boy. They (whomever they are) are expecting too much of me and need to look elsewhere - no hard feelings.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I'm just a human being, striving to be better and I hope the Gods bless me.

 

[Kenny]

In our faith, God has made us righteous and we develop a righteousness consciousness.

 

[Father Heathen]

I try to be honest, fair, do what's right, etc. I can also be selfish and vindictive at times. However, I think proclaiming oneself to be "righteous" comes off as rather pompous and sactimonious.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

in my faith we are told not to veiw ourselves as wicked. Even so, i certainly don't veiw myself as righteous either. Not quite sure how to perceive myself.

Then, you're humble...not thinking too much of yourself. -- Romans 12:3

You try to do what is good, right?

Keep it up.

 

[Tumah]

in my faith we are told not to veiw ourselves as wicked.

Slow down there, buddy, and don't forget Eccl. 3:1!

...be righteous and don't be wicked. And even if the whole world is telling you, 'you are righteous', be in your own eyes as a wicked person.
BT Nidah 30b​

 

[Elliott5779]

Slow down there, buddy, and don't forget Eccl. 3:1!

...be righteous and don't be wicked. And even if the whole world is telling you, 'you are righteous', be in your own eyes as a wicked person.
BT Nidah 30b​

This is intriguing, i will study this G-d willing. i based what i said on Avot 1:7 "do not despair of retribution." When i "despaired of retribution" i veiwed myself as a wicked person and i know if i were to view myself as a wicked person i would "despair of retribution."

So it's possible i interpreted this line in Avot to mean that i should not view myself as wicked. They do seem to go hand in hand though, so how do we resolve this question?

 

[Elliott5779]

Slow down there, buddy, and don't forget Eccl. 3:1!

...be righteous and don't be wicked. And even if the whole world is telling you, 'you are righteous', be in your own eyes as a wicked person.
BT Nidah 30b​

i don't quite understand what you mean when quoting Kohelet...

 

[Tumah]

This is intriguing, i will study this G-d willing. i based what i said on Avot 1:7 "do not despair of retribution." When i "despaired of retribution" i veiwed myself as a wicked person and i know if i were to view myself as a wicked person i would "despair of retribution."

So it's possible i interpreted this line in Avot to mean that i should not view myself as wicked.

I thought you were coming from Avos 2:13, "and don't be wicked in your own eyes".

They do seem to go hand in hand though, so how do we resolve this question?

There are lots of commentaries that speak about this. The Tanya is one of the more famous ones who discusses this in the first chapter.

i don't quite understand what you mean when quoting Kohelet...

I'm just saying not to make absolute statements when it comes to these things.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

in my faith we are told not to veiw ourselves as wicked. Even so, i certainly don't veiw myself as righteous either. Not quite sure how to perceive myself.

Wondering what other religions say regarding how one should perceive themselves and how people actually feel about themselves.

We view, in my faith, the opposite. We see ourselves as virtuous and with compassion within oneself that is a few of many cores within religion and spirituality.

We see ourselves as growing and with that train ourselves to convert that growth into virtuous and "righteous" actions in accordance to our experiences and examples in The Dharma as guidence or reference.

Seeing ourselves as sinful contradicts the nature of The human identity in that there is no fixed identity to which one can be righteous or not. Our self is defined by our actions and experience of them. Our identity changes to where it's only labeled a sense of self.

The negativity is derived from our actions. Unless you can't control your actions, we believe we can be righteous just not in an egotistic way.
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Furthermore, whatever righteous gains the monk may obtain in a righteous way — even if only the alms in his bowl — he does not consume them alone. He consumes them after sharing them in common with his virtuous fellows in the holy life. This is a condition that is conducive to amiability, that engenders feelings of endearment, engenders feelings of respect, leading to a sense of fellowship, a lack of disputes, harmony, & a state of unity. Saraniya Sutta: Conducive to Amiability
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Short explanation on how words like virtue and righteousness apply to those monks (and lay men and women) who are humble and think of others as a community not of self (unrighteousness).

 

[GoodbyeDave]

The term "righteous" is usually associated with Christianity, so I'd not use it myself. I hope that I'm virtuous, however. Like most polytheists, I believe that we are born with the capacity for virtue, as much as we have the capacity for speech. Naturally we have to learn how to develop it; our natural virtue can be weakened with disuse; and, being fallible, we can make mistakes and do things that are incompatible with virtue.

 

[Elliott5779]

I thought you were coming from Avos 2:13, "and don't be wicked in your own eyes".


There are lots of commentaries that speak about this. The Tanya is one of the more famous ones who discusses this in the first chapter.


I'm just saying not to make absolute statements when it comes to these things.

i no longer own a Tanya, would you care to share in short what the Alter Rebbe says about it?

 

[tayla]

in my faith we are told not to veiw ourselves as wicked. Even so, i certainly don't veiw myself as righteous either. Not quite sure how to perceive myself.

Wondering what other religions say regarding how one should perceive themselves and how people actually feel about themselves.

There is pain and suffering in the world, and people are capable of inflicting harm on conscious creatures. People who do this for fun, I suppose you could say they are unrighteous. But for everyone else, I don't think the designation of "righteous" or "unrighteous" is very helpful. It seems like something derived from flawed views from revealed religions or revealed spiritual paths.

 

[DustyFeet]

3 ways to approach "righteousness": mercy, humility, choice

midrash rabbah 73:3

"praiseworthy are the righteous! For they convert G-d's Attribute of Strict Justice to the Attribute of Mercy."

letters of light, rabbi aaron raskin, pg. 176

"The Zohar recounts that when G-d wanted to create the world, every letter of the alef-beis came before Him and said, "G-d create the world with me." The tav came first, and then the shin, and so on. Then the tzaddik appeared appeared before G-d and said, "G-d create the world with me. I am the tzaddik, the righteous one." So G-d responded. "Yes, but because you are righteous you must be hidden. Therefore, I cannot create the world with you."

semantics:

can a person be forced to be righteous? righteousness exists as a result of free-will. without free-will righteousness cannot exist. if righteousness exists, then free-will has to exist as well. everything cannot be completely predetermined unless righteousness is an illusion. this supports the idea, that adults deserve choice. taking away a person's choice, prevents them from becoming righteous. is that "fair"? is that "just"?

 

[IndigoChild5559]

I think it depends on how you define righteous. Christians define it as absolutely perfect (which is silly) or "being in a state of grace" by which they mean they have repented of their sins -- that sounds okay, so long as one of the sins don't include "rejecting the Messiah" LOL. In Judaism and Islam, righteousness means to live a life according to God's precepts, and it doesn't have to be perfect. It simply means you are not committing an ongoing serious sin.

I suppose I would qualify as righteous under that definition, but honestly in my gut, I just don't feel all that righteous. I have many of the same small flaws that many have, and I need to work on them. There are some character flaws that I have struggled with my whole life, and although I've come far, there is still room for improvement.

In addition, I'm really not content avoiding the forbidden things. I want to be a tzadik, which I think is someone who goes the extra mile to do the good. I am to love Hashem with all my heart, mind, and strength, and my neighbor as myself -- the Rabbis teach that these are the heart of the Torah. IOW words, I'd like to obey the positive commandments, and the spirit of that teaching. What is more, I would like to develop the virtues (I could make a long, long list of these). For example, I want to be kind and generous. Or I want to give up my attachment to material things (whether I have them or not). I want to pray frequently, both alone and with others, and so draw close to Hashem. I want to seek wisdom. I want my spirituality to flow in a simple and loving manner. You have perhaps met or read about such people. Will I achieve this goal? I haven't yet. I'm halfway through my life so God has time to continue working on me. I certainly aspire, though many times I think it is far beyond me. I've told God I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get to this point. So, God willing...

 

[listenhere]

The most common approach toward getting to Heaven is just living as righteously as you can and hoping God will favor you on judgment day. They think that if they do more good things than bad, they have a shot. To that, God says:

There is none righteous, no, not one ... For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. Ye have heard it said ... thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause ... shall be in danger of hellfire. Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust ... hath committed adultery. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body be cast into Hell. Romans 3:23 Matthew 5:21,28,29

Jesus isn't really saying to cut away a member of our body if it sins. He is saying it is futile for us to get to Heaven based on how good we are. According to the Bible, if there was ever a man who lived his entire life without ever telling a lie, without a single swear word, with every spare moment spent helping others and serving God, with only a single lustful glance at a woman, that man's life will deserve eternal torment in the same place with Adolf Hitler. Yet people put their faith into their good deeds. It won't work.