What is the kingdom of God?

I believe today's headline is something many people ask every day. What is the kingdom of God - really?
Is it right conduct? Is it going around with a smile on your face? Is it to wear shabby clothes and no make-up? Is it to live in poverty and have low self-esteem?
No, no, no!!! None of the above has anything at all to do with the kingdom of God.
The Bible is very clear about what God's kingdom is. Let's read in Romans 14:17,
"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."
To know what something is, it sometimes proves useful to know what it is not. Here it says very clearly what the kingdom of God is not. It is not meat and drink. The Greek words for meat and drink, are bibrôskô, meaning food, meat, the act of eating, decaying and corrosion; and po'sis, meaning drink, to drink, the act of drinking. God tells us that what we put in us through our mouths are not His kingdom. We need food and drink to live and sustain our lives, however, we should never let eating and drinking be considered part of God's kingdom (except for communion, of course). I believe we could say that the kingdom of God is not material things.
What then is the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

• Righteousness, or right standing with God, is obtained in one way, and one way only, namely through faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for you and me through His death and resurrection. And I know that very many Christians don't know fully (or partially) what righteousness really means. It is so grand, so over our carnal minds to understand it, that we need the Holy Spirit to enlighten us. But it means that you and I, who are born in sin and totally unworthy of God's grace, may come to God through Jesus' sacrifice for us. We can stand clean and free of sin before God and come boldly to the throne of Grace, as it says in Hebrews 4:16, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Maybe I'll come back to our righteous standing with God in later pieces here on the blog.)
• Peace. God's kingdom is peace. Do you see peace around you today? If there's one thing this world lacks, it's peace. Jesus said, "And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for [such things] must needs be ... (Mark 13:7). Jesus said that there will be wars (absence of peace), but that we (His children) should not be troubled. To not be troubled is to have peace. Jesus also said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).
• Joy is the third ingredient in the kingdom of God. Many people mix joy and happiness, but they are far apart. Happiness is something you feel because of some external situation. Maybe you've been offered a salary increase or you've bought a new house or have a new boy- or girlfriend. Those situations are reasons to be happy. However, when the money is spent, the house is too expensive to live in or the new friend is gone, what then? Happiness is also gone. Happiness follows external situations. Joy, however, comes from within. Joy is independent of external situations or happenings. Joy comes from God. Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22 (and so is peace). Real joy can only come from a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Joy is from God. Happiness is of the world; joy is of God.

God's kingdom is as far from the worldly kingdom as east is from west. Eating and drinking may give you a temporal satisfaction and a moment's happiness; righteousness, peace and joy, however, are lasting "ingredients" that don't stop when this life is over, but they follow us into eternity.
I have chosen God's kingdom, and I hope you have, too.