It's time to correct a common
mistranslation.
How often are we reminded in our society, "Justice, justice shall ye pursue..." And yet, the Hebrew "tsedek" (צדק) means righteousness, not justice. Righteousness isn't about blindly enforcing laws or following orders, or judging a case on the strictest legal merits. Righteousness is about doing what is right, even going beyond the letter of the law, beyond one's minimal obligation on behalf of another. It isn't about lowering our standards, it's about exceeding them.
How often are we reminded in our society, "Justice, justice shall ye pursue..." And yet, the Hebrew "tsedek" (צדק) means righteousness, not justice. Righteousness isn't about blindly enforcing laws or following orders, or judging a case on the strictest legal merits. Righteousness is about doing what is right, even going beyond the letter of the law, beyond one's minimal obligation on behalf of another. It isn't about lowering our standards, it's about exceeding them.
Let us seek out opportunities to practice righteousness, and -- as elsewhere in the Bible -- "to walk humbly with the Lord your God."
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