In the midst of a drought in Kenya, thirsty monkeys attacked Ali Adam Hussein and his fellow herdsman who stopped to water their herd. The wild monkeys barraged them with rocks, resulting in Hussein's death.

When hunger and thirst reaches a critical stage, it becomes a primary motivator. It causes the thirsty to do things they wouldn't ordinarily do.

What would happen if our spiritual thirst for righteousness was strong as our natural thirst for water?

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6 NASB

A recent study by Canadian psychologists found “that people who purchase environmentally friendly items feel ‘a moral glow’ that makes them more likely to cheat and act selfishly in their private lives.” In the study, which was a computer game, “subjects were to reward themselves with money based on results. ‘Green’ consumers were more likely to lie about test results so that they could take more money. The green subjects were also six times more likely to just steal money from the envelope.” The explanation for this is that “acting virtuously seems to make people feel they now have a ‘license’ to act unethically and selfishly in other parts of their lives.”

--The Week April 2, 2010 p. 21. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

Our lives are to be an open book before the Lord. Because we are righteous in one area, doesn’t give us license to fail to live for God’s glory in every other area.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NASB77) “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

The movie “Courageous” begins with a young man at a gas station pulling the squeegee out of the water container so he can wash his windshield while he is filling up his tank. What he doesn’t know, is that a young stranger, is about to steal his truck.

When he turns around, he sees the truck pulling away. He drops the squeegee and runs after the truck. He lunges through the pickup window and grabs onto the steering wheel. With his body halfway out the pickup truck and, at times, his feet dragging on the side of the street, the man refuses to let go of the wheel.

At first it seems strange that this man would hold onto the steering wheel with half of his body hanging outside of pickup. Viewers want to scream out, “It’s not worth it—it is just a truck! File an insurance claim and move on” The truck runs into a tree and the thief runs away. The owner opens the door and the viewers see for the first time why he was in hot pursuit—it wasn’t his truck he was running after, it was his child. There was young baby is in the car seat crying. –Jim L. Wilson and Pete Ramirez

“Courageous” DVD Sherwood Ministry Picture Inc. 2011Scene 1 “Fighting for the wheel”

Prov 15:9 HCSB The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but He loves the one who pursues righteousness.

Bill Dana was one of the early jet pilots in NASA’s astronaut program. Although he never flew into space, he came close as a test pilot for the X-15 rocket plane. He flew the experimental plane almost 59 miles above the earth. In spite of the danger inherent in such flying, Dana says he does not ever remember being afraid that he was going to die. Instead, he said, because “there’s a whole staff of engineers in the control room watching every move you make, and my fear was that I would do something that would embarrass myself in the eyes of my peers.”

Fear of embarrassment can be a strong motive for righteous living. Not wanting to embarrass oneself in front of peers, spouses, or children is not a bad thing to think about when temptations occur. --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Psalm 25:2 (HCSB) (2) My God, I trust in You. Do not let me be disgraced; do not let my enemies gloat over me.

A Seattle elementary school credits an alert garbage man for finding nearly $12,00 in checks. Micah Speir was picking up trash next to some bins near the school when he found a number of checks made out to the school. He contacted the principal who met him on his route and gratefully took the checks back. She said they were from a fundraising drive and someone had accidentally dropped a bag containing the checks. Though the school offered to tip Speir for his good deed, he turned down the offer. Speir said his only concern was doing the right thing and getting the money back to the school.—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Seattle garbage man returns $12,000 in lost checks to school,
http://news.yahoo.com/seattle-garbageman-returns-12-000-lost-checks-school-190146868.html, Accessed November 4, 2015

Proverbs 11:4 (HCSB) “Wealth is not profitable on a day of wrath, but righteousness rescues from death.”

RIGHTEOUSNESS

A Staten Island, New York couple found a safe containing over $50,000 worth of diamonds, gold, jade, and wet cash in a rusting safe on their property. They believed the rusting box setting beneath some trees was an old cable box so they ignored it. When they had a couple of the trees removed, the safe opened revealing the treasure. Matthew and Marla Emanuel also found a paper inside with a neighbor’s address on it. When they went to the house, they discovered that the items had been reported stolen in 2011. Maria Emanuel said there was never a question about returning the articles. She added, “It wasn’t ours.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

An enterprising man in Mexico practicing social isolation enlisted his dog as a deliveryman to fetch snacks. Tucking $20 into his chihuahua’s collar Antonio Munoz sent him to the store. He included a note reading “Hello Mr. Shopkeeper. Please sell my dog some Cheetos, the orange kind, not the red ones, they’re too hot.” The dog returned with a bag of Cheetos. Munoz commented, “Day three of quarantine,” noted Munoz, “I wanted my Cheetos.”

Give credit to Antonio for resourcefulness. Did you ever want something so bad that you would do about anything to obtain it? Jesus said if we wanted righteousness that bad, we would be blessed. — Jim Wilson and Rodger Russell

Public schools in San Diego have instituted new “equitable grading practices,” with grades no longer affected by homework, tests, attendance or other “factors that directly measure students’ knowledge.” District official Richard Barrera explained, “If we’re actually going to be an antiracist school district, we have to confront practices like this.”

This practice goes by the name of “Standards based grading.” Instead of grading students on their work and their progress, teachers grade them specifically on whether they reach the standard or not.

The idea behind these grading practices is to focus on only if the students get to the goal, not how they get there. Not so with our walk with the Lord. He isn’t only concerned with us making it to heaven, but how we live on our way to getting there. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell

we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to walk worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.