| MARCH 3, 2025 -- I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:19
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:17
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are full of examples of choices, often with statements of consequences for choosing rightly or choosing wrongly. The writings of the prophets are especially rich in mentioning bad things which have happened because the people of Israel have made wrong choices. Their warnings typically center around issues like idolatry, injustice, greed, and immoral behavior, highlighting how these actions can lead to societal decline and divine punishment.
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) lists blessings as a result of making right choices, while his Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6) also mentions woes that will betide those who may not have made right choices. One of these is “Woe to you who are rich”, which brings to mind the rich young ruler who appears in the 19th chapter of Matthew asking Jesus how to become perfect. Jesus advises to sell all that he has and follow Him. The rich young ruler goes away saddened because he cannot bring himself to do that. For him, and alas for many of us, the riches of this world are far more important than the riches of the world to come.
I do not picture a wrathful God who will actively punish us every time we make a wrong choice, but rather that the Lord will in many cases allow to descend upon us the evils that we have brought upon ourselves by our own actions or inactions. The prophets repeatedly called us to repent, to choose to turn away from our sinful ways and to follow God’s wishes for how we live our lives and deal with our fellow human beings. They warned us of what would eventually happen if we did not do so.
What God is asking/telling us to do is very simple and straightforward. The words should be familiar to most of us: “And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
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