Twists and Turns... the path forward

I have been absent for a while. No excuses. Working a lot. The travails of life have sunk my ship for the moment.
The dodge lost a transmission the other day and my daughters truck spun the number three rod bearing. The suburban lost a transmission last summer and has been sitting. The only vehicle I had running was the Harley up until last weekend. Seems ridiculous but it is what it is. The vehicle situation has led to a lot of complaining around my house. Most of it about me. I finished putting the daughter's truck back together last weekend after rebuilding the engine. All the parts to rebuild the suburban transmission are here. The dodge is sitting until the other vehicles I own are running. I say all of this to get to a point.
I have a problem. This travail of life has made me look in the mirror and do some reflecting. I have discovered a part of my character that has a direct effect on the members of my family, often in an unproductive manner. I cannot make myself pay someone to fix something I have the knowledge and ability to fix myself. I know I could pay someone to fix my vehicles and they would be done a lot quicker than I have the time to fix them in but that's very hard for me to do. I have 99% of all the tools required to make all the repairs needed on my vehicles. What I don't have is time. Not much more to say other than I discovered I have a problem and I'm really struggling to overcome it. Eventually I'll get it figured out.
It's usually in times of hardship or trials that I also take time to re-evaluate my spiritual condition. I have not been active in a church for about five years. he thing I know is church isn't the answer to spiritual condition. Church is a tool to help maintain one's lifestyle in a manner that should keep us accountable to fellow believers for our actions. Without that accountability there are so many opportunities to take the wrong path and live in a spiritually lawless state. To pursue life in a SLS (spiritually lawless state) is to abandon order and open the door to chaos. A state of spiritual lawlessness  blinds ones eyes to the moral condition of ones heart. We can deny a decline of morality but if we take a measured look, meaning judge ourselves according to the laws of God proclaimed by Jesus Christ and be truthful with our findings we will see that a lack of accountability and not pursuing a relationship with God is very costly. Take notes here, I'm speaking from experience.
I have a nagging in my spirit that says it's time to turn this around. I ran across a saying the other day that got me thinking. It was something like "Immortality lies on the path of righteousness". While researching this comment I discovered it originated in the book of proverbs, notes from a king. It seems King Solomon was ordained with the title of the wisest man to have ever lived. It also seems following his advice is highly advisable. So this saying come from Proverbs 12:28 "Life is in the way of righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area ad relation), and in it's pathway there is no death but immortality (perpetual eternal life)." Amplified version. For all the time man has inhabited the earth he has, in general, sought immortality. The key lies in righteousness. Solomon didn't proclaim this without any research. Read the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon sought God in nature but nature pointed him to the Creator. He sought God in every venue of life. Drinking, partying, astrology, magic, and every other place he could imagine finding the source of life was to no avail. All things pointed back to the Creator. Oh yes, he even looked into Darwin's theory of evolution long before Darwin was even a blip on life's radar. Just to get an idea of his wisdom you really have to read the book of Proverbs and to see how many things he tried read Ecclesiastes. So man's quest for answers really lies in his desire to live in immorality and have a definite ending. If this wasn't true all men would pursue righteousness and immortality. To pursue righteousness we must first understand righteousness. It is the rightness and equity accounted to the laws and judgements of God. It is the pursuit to maintain the right and cause of God on the earth. Psalms Chapter 9 lends insight to this. By the way, most of Psalms was penned by King David, Solomon's father.  David was also the one man in the bible God said was a man after his own heart, quite a position to hold if you ask me. Lofty pursuit? Maybe but obviously rewarding. Righteousness attainable? Absolutely!The only thing holding us back is ourselves. We don't want to live righteously. If we chose to live righteously we would walk in the footsteps of Christ. Total unconditional love towards our fellow human beings. Unconditional love does not eliminate judgement of our wrongs but holds us to a higher standard. God's standard includes judgement. If we are to walk in righteousness we also must learn to judge in the manner God judges. If we measure our judgements against God's law the path of righteousness becomes plainly clear. The righteousness of God cries out to us to live right in the ways he has set before us, no matter what our trials and tribulations are. He has given us the key to immortality. That key is righteousness. Does righteousness overcome evil? Every time. Has evil ever continuously ruled in the earth? No. There have been cycles but right always prevails. The darkness is exposed by the light. Goodness reveals evil. Righteousness reveals sin. Once we obtain a revelation of righteousness we also obtain a revelation of sin. Sound confusing? It really is quite simple. Righteousness is being in right standing with God. To be in right standing is to make ones self acceptable to the one in the position of judging. To understand the seat of judgement we can reflect on our position as parents or as children. We want our children to live right and in equity to the way we expect them to live. God expects the same from us. If our children break our rules we punish them, not always fairly but punishment in a fashion that is still a part of love. Love cannot exist without discipline. Righteousness cannot exist without judgement. Judgement is a fickled thing. We often use the scripture that references judge not lest ye be judged without measuring the intent of that scripture in association with righteousness. We are correct to assume we should not judge, unless we stand in the path of righteousness. To stand in the path of righteousness means we have exposed every part of our being before God and survived the fire of his cleansing. In other words, if there is no fault in your life according to the laws of God then you stand in a position to judge rightly according to His laws which you abide by to a letter. No fault can be found in you or your life. I'm not saying you haven't had faults in your life, we all have. Regardless of our past we are constantly offered a new beginning through Jesus Christ and his redemption of our rightful position in God's creation. Man has used the judge not scripture to allow himself to not be accountable to his peers. Just remember in order to judge we must judge according to the right and justness of the Almighty.
None of this commentary should be taken as convicting but should be read with the ability to search ones own heart for the path of righteousness and find the freedom of walking on that path, after all it's the path to immortality. Enjoy!