I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
The Catholic wing of the Right to Life movement has adopted Moses’ words in Deuteronomy as its rallying cry, “Choose Life!” More than clever marketing, these two words invite deep reflection.
Choose life may be a very brief summary of the Book of Deuteronomy and, hence, of the entire Bible with both testaments.
Choose life implies the alternative, death. And that is precisely how Deuteronomy describes the decision. We choose to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; or we die.
This is not a choice between Rice Krispies and Cheerios, the kind of “free” choice offered by a consumer economy. It is not a choice between urban, suburban, or rural; straight or gay; racist or inclusive. It is not a choice of smoking, drinking, and carousing versus clean, healthy living; although I’m sure some people see their disciplined lifestyle as choosing life.
Like the Gospel of John, Deuteronomy challenges us to choose the Lord as Our God. If there are other gods, we have nothing to do with them. Nor is this choice without its history. Rather, we must choose again what we have chosen before; and that is the choice our ancestors made for their descendants. Our faith, hope, and love of God did not begin when we were born, nor on the day we "came to the Lord." Our religion began many centuries ago when the Lord brought us out of Egypt, when the Lord delivered us from Babylon, and when the Lord gathered us to the Baptismal font and the Eucharistic altar.
But it is also a new choice in the sense that we must reinforce this habit daily. When it becomes just a habit without inspiration death creeps like the shadows of night over our hearts.
Our God is a jealous God; Deuteronomy insists upon that. But so is the culture in which we live. There is the slavery of addiction to various legal and illegal substances. There are the demands of a consumer culture that tells us we must own more and more stuff. There is the stupefaction of the entertainment industry and the insults of advertisers who regard us as stupid and gullible. There are insinuations of political parties who despise us but love our votes. No one should imagine they are not prey to these persistent, consuming deities. Like mobsters of the Prohibition Era, they find our weakness to exploit them with coercion and threats.
Nor should anyone suppose they are immune to those false gods. The idolatry of self, of doing what I want to do and believing what I want to believe, is the most dangerous of all idolatries.
Our salvation is the One God who demands our wholehearted fidelity. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.