The righteous from the Bible were people who pretended to believe strongly in God and religious rules in order to be respected by their society.
Being passionate about the teachings of Jesus, prayer, and talking about what helps or hurts others is not a trait of the righteous because of the intentions behind it.
As Christians begin to show more fervor for their faith in public once more, people who have some acquaintance with Christianity will ask if they are not acting like the righteous who Jesus warned about. However, there has been a misunderstanding about who the righteous were for some time. Many people have confused the righteous with Christians who hold strongly to their love of God and what is right. However, the righteous Jesus talked about only seemed to be this way, and it was the fact that they pretended to be this way that was their main problem. What flowed from this problem was a lack of compassion because the righteous didn’t genuinely care about God and what was good.
The righteous from the Bible were people who pretended to believe strongly in God and religious rules in order to be respected by their society. It is not necessarily that they did not believe in God or right and wrong at all but that their principle concern was the praise they received from society. For example, the righteous would have been held in high regard for being seen praying openly in public, but that is not to say that they cared much for the welfare of the people in their prayers.
However, the righteous are not like a passionate Christian who would talk about God in public out of a genuine love for Jesus and a concern for those listeners, especially when it was at the risk of ridicule. Being passionate about the teachings of Jesus, prayer, and talking about what helps or hurts others is not a trait of the righteous because of the intentions behind it. In fact, for Christianity to return to the public square, there will need to be a largescale rebirth of Christian fervor.
What is the aim of Christianity? Does the outward show of devotion make any real difference in the long run? No, it does not. Being wholeheartedly devoted is not only for show, it means to etch it in your heart and to practice it even when no one is there to watch. Or else, what is the point of fake devotions? People will see it once, twice, praise you. But will it be really beneficial?
So true - there is a stark difference between belief for the sake of your relationship with God, and belief for the sake of your appearance to others. Even today, there are those who outwardly claim their love for Him while giving in to temptation and sin in their private lives. Your faith is your own, it is personal, and it should not be used to garner favour with others.