Righteousness In Moderation?

We've all met them . . . perhaps we are one of them . . . those people who strive for perfection in terms of godliness. The ones that make you feel like you're a bad person because you watched a movie last weekend. OK, now we're totally judging them . . . lol. It's good to want to be righteous though, right? It's good to strive to perfection in this life . . . isn't it? Yes . . . quite clearly life works better when you do the right things. But is there a point when doing the right things crosses a line from doing to impractically demanding things which one cannot deliver on? I think so. And I'm wondering what Solomon meant when he wrote:

"Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise." (Ecc. 7:16)

Perhaps the answer is found in the follow up verse . . .

"For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin." (Ecc. 7:21)

I don't think Solomon put this out here to discourage us but to let us know that, "hey, you can't do perfection . . . you can't make yourself perfect or righteous . . . that's impossible to do" (and annoying to be around).

Righteousness is a gift from God . . . that we can ONLY get when we accept Jesus as our Savious . . . that's pretty much it . . . no strings or laws attached. After that since we have chosen Jesus, that gives Him permission to work in our life . . . and that's where He starts working to correct all those crappy habits that we hold on to. If we continue to choose Him and His will for our life then we will see a difference because we will also choose to do what He asks . . . this isn't about going out and finding the perfect formula for Holiness . . . this is about letting Jesus mix a personal formula just for you . . . that works JUST for you and no one else (you're not supposed to feed your formula to anyone else! God can make one for them if they even want one.)

This is called sanctification. When God perfects us . . . it's not about us being overly righteous . . . that's works. Allowing God to guide your life and doing what He asks even when it doesn't make sence . . . that's faith. (And obviously since you're allowing Him to work in your life . . . you will have good works too . . . but they don't come first . . . the faith does.)