How righteousness works in daily life
The Pharisees said that righteousness consisted of performing certain actions,……doing things.
However, Jesus wanted people to know that your relationship with God was all about how you were thinking …. Your motivation.

It was the same with sin.  The Pharisees had a list of external actions that were sinful, but Jesus explained that sin (falling short of God’s plan for us) actually begins with having the wrong attitude.

So, in the Gospel today Jesus speaks plainly about the effect of wrong attitudes or wrong thinking.

We are told that anger is murder in the heart. Jesus didn’t say that anger leads to murder; He said that anger IS murder. Anger is an unhelpful thing which makes us destroyers instead of builders. Anger robs us of freedom and makes us prisoners. To hate someone is to commit murder in our hearts.

Similarly, lust is actually adultery and envy is in effect stealing.

Jesus taught that our conversation should be so honest and our character so true that we don’t need to “swear by the hair of your chinny, chin, chin” or “cross my heart and spit” to have people believe us.

Words depend on character and swearing oaths can’t compensate for a poor character.  The more words someone uses to convince us, the more
suspicious we should be.

We honour God by being thoughtful about what we say.

Matthew 17:1–9 (NRSV)

1 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”