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Broken and the Blessed Week 8, Day 3

by David Joynt on February 28, 2017


DAY 52

PROVERBS 21:2

 

John Calvin comments on this beatitude by saying Christians will suffer because “in their concern for equity and justice, disciples oppose evil causes and defend the good to the best of their power.” Now this insight is important because there are martyrs in unjust causes! Our suffering must be for “righteous reasons,” and we must be careful not to rush to judgment, particularly about complex matters. Our ways, the author of Proverbs tells us, are always right in our own eyes. Self-deception is a Christian issue too. So determining the right cause is a task for serious prayer, for communal discernment, and for careful thought.

 

 

Have you ever, with pure motivation, backed the wrong cause?

Who do you discuss politics and justice with?

 

FAMILY TIME:

What is your political philosophy?

How does it connect with your faith?

 

Tags: beatitudes

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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