I’ve placed in front of you
Life and Good
Death and Evil.
Deuteronomy 30:15 (Message Version)
The Bible’s a story about God and people. A generous God who loves, and loves to bless people – trying to get them to live fully under his blessing now and forever. He lays it out clearly time and again that really there are only two ways to live; Blessing or curse, (real life – or death).
Blessing or cursing
Some people choose the path, the life that is death – of curse and cursing: Something goes wrong, they look to who we can blame, get bitter, shake a fist.
We can curse governments, institutions, the banks, because ‘someone’ should do something about it. This cursing will lead you to think in a scarcity mentality. Protect, conserve, hoard, safeguard. There’s not enough to go round. Unless I want to spend it on me and mine.
As the election looms I don’t recall hearing anyone talk about how blessed we are on this country. We need to get out more!
We curse the immigrants, the system, the inflation rate.. or we count our blessings today. Because you have access to computer and the internet, and that means you’re on the rich list.i wonder if there was a ‘Grateful’ party, whether anyone would vote for them?
Count your blessings, and share them.
The average European cow is subsidised at a higher level than that at which half the world’s people have to live; 2 dollars a day. Most of us don’t get to choose the policies, but we get to choose whether that kind of injustice changes our hearts or not.
30,000 kids die every day because of poverty. I can’t get my head around that, but I need to get my heart around it. “Are other people’s kids as important as ours?” or is everything I have just for me?
As Bono says, they don’t need charity – they need justice.
They need people who wont just consume, and consume themselves.
Yesterday I talked with a man who came to my door (he comes to church here sometimes) I’ve not seen him for ages. He looked terrible.
He’s about my age but looked thirty years older. I know years ago he was a marketing genius on good pay. Now he’s a squatter.
He told me he sold his house, and for the past four months he has spent the tens of thousands of pounds released on a self indulgent life of prostitutes and crack cocaine. ‘I just wanted to have a blow-out. I have no regrets, and I know God still loves me anyway.’
True. But I wanted to smack him one.
I know that’s not pastorally sensitive, but – what a waste! Not just wasted money, a wasted life. Choosing death. I walked away reeling. Why would you waste everything God had given you on yourself like that, when you KNOW it will leave you so empty and dead inside?
Then I thought how God must view my own self centredness and self indulgence with what he gives me. I realised this druggie was only doing in fast forward for months what we can spend a whole lifetime doing. At least he was honest about it.
What will it be today?
Choose death- a scarcity mentality which leads to economic disaster and misery whoever is in power.
Choose life, the abundant life which leads to seeing someone else is more important than me, gratitude, sharing and generosity.
I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life… Deut 30:19