Sometimes we struggle to grasp the biblical view of joy because of the way it is defined and described in Western culture today. In particular, we often confuse joy with happiness. In the Beatitudes {Matt. 5:3–11}, according to the traditional translations, Jesus said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit.… Blessed are those who mourn.… Blessed are the meek …" {vv. 3–5, emphasis added}, and so on. Sometimes, however, translators adopt the modern vernacular and tell us Jesus said happy rather than blessed. I always cringe a little when I see that, not because I am opposed to happiness, but because the word happy in our culture has been sentimentalized and trivialized.
( R.C. Sproul )
[ Can I Have Joy In My Life? ]
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