Choose Joyনমুনা

DAY 38 - JOY THAT EXALTS A CITY

Reflection: Today, the wisdom of Proverbs shows us that learning to choose joy and live a joy-strengthened life, is not just an individual journey, but one for our community. Each ‘parallel’ thought in this passage shows the journey of a city or community in relation to the position of the righteous and wicked.

At first, we have a situation that may feel all too familiar to us. The lies, abuse, accusation, and manipulation of the godless is destroying their neighbours. From gossip over a coffee to fake news over the internet, how easy it is for us to ‘destroy’ the people we are meant to love with envious, greedy, or most likely, ignorant words. But through ‘knowledge’ of God, and the bestowed righteousness of Jesus, we escape such a joyless life.

Building on that foundation, as we ‘prosper’ as Christians in the right-living we are called to, not only does our life move away from the destroying of neighbours, it spreads rejoicing in our city and community. Strongholds of deceit built by wickedness begin to collapse, and we join in the ‘shouts of joy’.

Finally, the blessing of God that we carry allows our city or community to be ‘exalted’ - lifted to a higher civil plane. Not because of good politics or good planning or good infrastructure, but because of good people. And people can only find goodness through Jesus.

So we are called to live with shouts of joy, and to help our whole community find more joy. Yes, ‘the mouth of the wicked’ may still be breathing out destruction, but our joyful, righteous lives are protective for ourselves, our families, and our communities.

Choose joy: Put aside ignorant gossip. Speak out of the truth of Jesus today.