"the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.” ~Proverbs 11:5

“The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.” ~Proverbs 11:5

This verse has a strong good-versus-evil feel about it - especially if read alone. Most world religions work on that basis, so it’s common to see these things in opposition. The righteousness of the blameless against the wickendness of the wicked.

But Christianity is different - it’s not an ‘ISM’. We don’t follow Christianism. What is the difference? The suffix ‘ism’ indicates an action, state, condition or doctrine, whereas the suffix ‘ity’ is used to create words showing a quality or condition of being something.

That’s beautiful, isn’t it? It can also be a warning - be careful when calling yourself a Christian if you are not being like Christ who is forgiving, loving, non-judgmental, kind, patient, full of joy, etc.

But, thankfully (that’s a HUGE understatement) - Christ is our righteousness. HE is the one making our paths straight - not us. We can’t make ourselves righteous. We’d be lost in a ditch, mired in the mud without Him.

“For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” ~2 Corinthians 5:21

‘The LORD is our righteousness.’ ~Jeremiah 23:6b

“In His death He faced our judgment; in His resurrection He reveals our righteousness” ~Romans 8:34b