Being a Righteous Dude
Ferris Bueller was considered a Righteous Dude because everyone liked him - except, for the “establishment”, which wanted to crush him.
It’s unfortunate that righteousness has a negative connotation today. Many draw parallels between being righteous and being self-righteous. The former is very good. The latter: bad.
Of the nine Beatitudes in The Sermon of the Mount, Jesus referred to being righteous twice:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled (Matthew 5:6)
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10)
So being righteous is good and important.
Being righteous according to Merriam Webster means acting in accord with divine or moral law: free from guilt or sin. The two operative words in the definition are ACTING and LAW. By definition, there has to be a divine or moral STANDARD that is followed (ACTION).
When used as slang, like righteous dude, it means “excellent” as Bill and Ted would say.
Because of translation, none of these definitions fit what Christ was referring to. Matthew 5 offers further clarification - direct from Christ:
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
According to this, righteousness is MORE than understanding the Law and following it, which the Pharisees and the Teachers did.
Emmett Fox’s The Sermon on the Mount helped clarify this in my mind:
Righteousness means, in the Bible, not merely right conduct, but right thinking on all subjects, in every department of life.
The Great Law of the Universe, however, is just this - that what you think in your mind you will produce in your experience. As within, so without. You cannot think one thing and produce another. If you want to control your circumstances for harmony and happiness, you must first control your thoughts for harmony and happiness, and then the outer things will follow.
Right thinking on all subjects - and right conduct. This makes sense. Christ’s ‘disciples’ were men of discipline. They “sought truth and practiced it”.
Head Knowledge vs. Heart Knowledge
As Christ indicated, it’s not enough to just follow the rules (law).
He wants your heart.
More scientifically, he wants your subconscious.
He wants more for you than just following the rules as the Pharisees did. He wants you to believe in Truth to your core. This is where true change comes from.
Fox separates “head knowledge” from “heart knowledge”, where the former is not part of a belief or value system. We’ve all seen examples: the doctor or the nurse that knows all about health and hygiene, yet doesn’t exercise or eat right. People that know cigarettes are causing health challenges, but refuse to quit.
Much of what blocks us from doing the right things is emotional or physical. The only way to overcome is divine intervention - or getting your “heart” right.
Read Alcohol Anonymous’ 12 Steps. It’s all there.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
CBT in its basic form is using your reasoning brain to fix a particular destructive thinking pattern. A therapist or thera-friend can guide you through your negative thinking patterns so you can uncover and deal with them.
For instance, say you catastrophize or consider only the worst case when something doesn’t go your way. CBT as a tool can help you reason through the crisis and consider not only the worst case scenario, but also the best case as well as the most probable case.
For example, say you get a flat tire on the way to work:
Worst case: It takes hours for a tow truck to arrive and charge you $350. You get to work real late and your boss fires you.
Best case: A passerby or friend sees you in distress and helps you put on the spare. You make it to work on time. All good.
Probable case: You call a tow truck. Pay the money. You’re late, but the boss understands. You keep your job. You sign up for AAA and you stop running around on bald tires.
Catastrophizing is just one thinking pattern that being “right” in thought can help with. Thinking only the worst outcome clearly demonstrates a detachment from reality, a lack of faith, and a lack of self-control.
Stop it. Fix it. God will help.
Getting ‘Right’ About All Things
The good news is that once your heart is right, you don’t need to be concerned with the Law. Actions follow being. We already mentioned knowledge is not enough. This is where another Beatitude comes in: Blessed are the pure of heart; For they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8).
Emmett Fox again:
Purity is recognizing God alone as the only real Cause and real Power in existence.
It is nothing less than the secret of escape from all sickness, trouble and limitation; the overcoming or reversing in short, of the Fall of Man.
You can’t pull your your own self up by the bootstraps. You need help and its there if you have a pure heart, one that is open to forces in the universe you can’t possibly understand.
Without a pure heart, the world doesn’t make sense. True North does not exist. Nihilism takes root and you can’t possibly become the best you.
With a pure heart, one that is open to God’s supreme power and grace, the sky’s the limit.
“Hunger and thirst” for what’s right, work toward that end and pray for help and guidance all the way. You will be filled.
Become the Righteous Dude (or Dudette) you were meant to be.