Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness in a World Hungry for Likes
We live in a culture built on cravings. Cravings for approval. Cravings for attention. Cravings for comfort and success. Social media runs on it. Every like, every comment, every notification promises to fill us up. Yet the more we chase, the emptier we feel. Our appetites never seem satisfied, because the world cannot give what our souls are truly hungry for.
Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Notice carefully what He says. He does not bless those who achieve righteousness or perform well enough to look righteous. He blesses those who hunger and thirst.
Hunger and thirst are not accomplishments. They are signs of dependence. When you are hungry or thirsty, you are acknowledging that your body cannot keep itself alive. You need something from outside yourself. In the same way, spiritual hunger means acknowledging that I cannot make myself righteous. I need God to do for me what I cannot do for myself.
And that truth should crush both pride and shame. If righteousness is the Spirit’s work in me, then I cannot take pride in it as though it were mine. How could I brag about someone else’s work? If righteousness is something God grows in His timing, then I cannot look at you with self-righteous judgment for not being where I think you should be. I also cannot be shamed by someone else’s prideful self-righteousness, because they are not the ones producing righteousness either. We are all beggars, and God alone is the One who fills.
That is the upside-down kingdom. In our world, pride thrives on comparison. We measure ourselves against others to feel superior or defeated. But Jesus kills that entire game. The hunger itself is blessed, not the performance. The desire for God’s righteousness is the mark of His work in us, and the promise is certain: “they shall be filled.”
And this Beatitude reshapes us in every direction. Toward God, it builds dependence. I keep coming back to Him for the righteousness only He can provide. Toward ourselves, it creates humility. No boasting. No shame. Just gratitude that the Spirit is at work. Toward others, it produces compassion. I cannot demonize you for your sin, because I am still hungry myself. I cannot dismiss you as hopeless, because I know the same God who fills me is able to fill you.
And do not miss the scope of this promise. Jesus is not just speaking about our personal growth. He is speaking about God’s righteousness breaking into the world. When we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we long to see God’s justice roll down like waters and His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. We long for a world where evil is judged, wrongs are made right, and Christ reigns over all. That hunger keeps us from settling for the shallow substitutes of likes, applause, and fleeting approval.
So here is the promise: they shall be filled. That begins now, as the Spirit satisfies us with God’s presence and shapes us to look like Christ. And it will be fulfilled completely when Jesus returns and fills the earth with His righteousness.
In a world hungry for likes, Jesus calls us to a hunger only God can satisfy. And the good news is this: the One who stirs that craving in us is the same One who promises to fill it.