“Be not overly righteous… Be not overly wicked”
Huh? That’s weird. Where does that phrase come from? Is that from some new age philosophy book? Is that a new self help guru here to help you shake off your religious tendencies? Nope. You know who said that: Solomon. Yes, Solomon. The man endowed with wisdom from God. That’s a Bible verse. That’s Ecclesiastes 7:16-17. And that’s how I want to encourage you.
The Overly Righteous
First, this is not a call to unrighteousness. Be not overly righteous, yes, but the very next verse says, “Be not overly wicked.” To be “overly righteous” is to have a false righteousness. Someone who is overly righteous is someone who thinks that they can make better rules than God. Isn’t that what Adam and Eve did in the garden? God said not to eat of the fruit, but Eve said, “neither shall you touch it” (Gen 3:3). God’s rules weren’t enough. They needed to be more righteous than God. The overly righteous see God’s rules as insufficient, so they add, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch” (Col 2:20-22). And ultimately, the overly righteous are the self-righteous. They’ve followed the rules that they’ve added, and now they are the really righteous ones. All the asceticism and harsh treatment of the body really makes them feel righteous.
The problem is that this “overly righteous” position destroys the one who believes it. The excessive rules of the overly righteous actually don’t work to stop the indulgences of the flesh (Col 2:23). And the most dangerous thing is that the overly righteous miss Jesus. Those who are truly righteous know that, “there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Ecc 7:20). The righteous are those who have acknowledged their shortcomings and fallen at the foot of the cross. They have repented of their self-righteousness and have put their trust in the Lord their righteousness (Jer 23:6). Christ is all, and the righteousness that He provides is a perfect righteousness.
The Overly Wicked
You might hear that and say, “No way. Not me. I’m not falling into that trap,” and by overcorrecting you find yourself guilty of becoming “overly wicked.” “Righteousness is not by the law, so I’m gonna be lawless.” But this is a terrible mistake. The overly wicked abuse God’s grace and walk contrary to God’s word. They rebel against God, and, worst of all, they feel safe.
Sin will kill you, and lawlessness is a mark of an unregenerate heart (1 John 3:9). Lawlessness is also a fundamental misunderstanding of grace. The grace that brings salvation teaches us to deny ungodliness and to live righteously in the present age (Titus 2:11-12). As Christians, we want to hate evil (Psalm 97:10), trust Christ (Rom 6:14-15), be devoted to good works (Titus 3:8), and fear God (Ecc 12:13-14).
The Fear of God
So what’s the remedy for both of these wrong lifestyles? Fear God. “The one who fears God shall come out of both of them” (Ecc 7:18). We don’t have to fear the world that God has given us. We are allowed to live our life, obeying and trusting God, and we need not fear that God has fallen short in His duty to instruct us. We want to be grateful partakers of God’s good world as we walk in the fear of God. To fear God is to hate evil (Prov 8:13). To fear God is to tremble at His word (Isa 66:2). If we fear God, then, it might come as a surprise, we can just be normal, and by His grace, He will preserve us and keep us to the very end.
Don’t be overly righteous, and don’t be overly wicked. Fear God. Walk in His ways. Tremble at His word. Trust the Lord Jesus. Just be normal.
Jacob Crouch 2024
Aliens and Pilgrims 