day no. 15,702: righteousness from Him and for Him or without Him and away from Him

Acts 10:1-5
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter." 

Some people's good works are signs that God is already drawing them near in order to invite them further upward and inward, while other's good works are signs that they are drawing away from God in order to attempt to be right without Him and away from Him. They don't want the alien righteousness that Cornelius or Paul wanted, that righteousness which is from Him and for Him; rather, they want an achieved righteousness that Cornelius left behind and that Paul threw away.

Philippians 3:4-9
I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.

It is imperative to aspire to the right kind of righteousness. The wrong kind of righteousness settles for being right in its own eyes. The right kind of righteousness strives to be seen as righteous in God's sight. This striving is one of looking out to Christ rather than inside to self.