So what is righteousness?

I have been reading a book called "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas. I can't begin to tell you how great this book is. The tagline on the cover says... "what if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy." This is the basic core of the book, how God uses marriage (and relationships in general) to call us away from ourselves and towards himself.

There is a chapter called "Sacred History: building the spiritual discipline of perseverance". It talks about how true holiness can be learned through perseverance instead of giving up when things get tough. I wanted to quote a paragraph the Gary writes because it REALLY, REALLY stuck out to me:

"Righteousness-true holiness- is seen over time in our persistence. It is relatively easy to "flirt" with righteousness - being occasionally courteous to other drivers (if you happen to be in a good mood), helping someone in need by opening the door for them (if you have the time), throwing a few extra bucks into the offering plate (as long as you won't miss them). But this behavior is in reality superficial righteousness.
The righteousness that God seeks is persistent righteousness, a commitment to continue making the right decision even when, perhaps hourly, you feel pulled in the opposite direction. Holiness is far more than an inclination toward occasional acts of kindess and charity. It is a commitment to persistent surrender before God."

I think so often we are self-righteous. We may have an inclination to do occasional acts of kindess and charity and somehow see that as good enough because it makes us feel better about ourselves. But true righteousness is an attitude of persistence. Constantly laying down ourselves before the feet of God. Persistenly seeking his ways and not our own. So wether we are faced with difficult decisions in marriage, or just our attitudes when someone cuts us off when driving, our response should always be surrender. Not clinging to our own self-righteousness and demanding our way, but releasing (even hourly) our attitudes and selfishness to clothe ourselves in humility and surrender to God's holy ways.

I think so often we read these things and feel convicted, but don't practically know how to apply these principles. What does "persistent surrender before God" look like? It's easy for me to surrender when we have a big decision to make in our marriage. It's easy for me to surrender my desire for a child (although not so easy at first!). What is difficult is my attitude when the trash needs to be taken out and isn't. What is difficult is my attitude when Jamie gets home later than he said because I think he needs to be home earlier. What is difficult is waiting in line for 30 minutes, when I think there should be other lines open.

I hope that I can be persistent in pursuing righteousness, and not "flirt" occasionally with acts of righteousness and charity. I pray that God reminds me of my attitudes in everyday situations. Because really, if we can't get it when we are driving our cars, how can we really get it when faced with lifes bigger challenges?