Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 14:34 (day three)
“Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.”
What is righteousness? Is it doctrinal purity? Devotion? Moral behavior? A profession of faith? God and country? Progressive cred? Repudiation of liberalism? Siding with the tax collector instead of the Pharisee in Jesus’s parable of the men who when to the temple to pray? Many will insist they aren’t perfect, even though they think they’re right. Righteousness is tricky that way, for individuals and for the nations. Claims to righteousness often have the effect of drawing lines and fracturing community. These days, it’s not uncommon to hear groups of people setting themselves against each other, declaring they’d rather not build a nation with those who don’t meet their standards. What kind of disgrace awaits such a people?
