This beatitude speaks of a passionate, relentless drive towards justice, equity, and righteousness according to God's standards. By stating hunger and thirst, Jesus makes it clear that the quest for righteousness is not merely a leisurely pastime, rather, it should be as much a necessity in one's life as eating and drinking. According to our textbook on pages 127, "When you seek righteousness, you work unceasingly, with God’s help, to secure justice for others". There exists an innate desire for happiness, justice, and righteousness within us. It is stated in the text that God has made the desire for these qualities innate in man. Money, athletics, or social recognition, however, can never fully quench the soul's thirst for justice.
- Contemporary Figure: Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela is an epitome of an individual that hungered and thirsted after righteousness. He spent his whole life fighting against the system of apartheid in South Africa, serving for 27 years in prison without giving up on his goal. It was his insatiable thirst for justice that got him out of prison and elected as a leader of a free country. While on trial in 1964, he said "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society... It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
- Personal Application:
One such opportunity to do that would be by coming forth whenever one encounters any kind of injustice or discrimination. For example, if I see anyone being discriminated against, ostracized, or bullied on social networking sites, I need not just scroll down but also come forth to defend their rights.
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