Hi everyone!
I took a break for a month, for several reasons. My wife got a very mild case of Covid-19, so we were both dealing with that from mid to late August (we were isolating her, and I was quarantining according to the CDC guidelines). Then, in September, we sold our home and closed on the home we’ve been building for nine months. Whew . . . a crazy month and a half. But I’m back now. Everyone is fine and we’ve moved in!
This is the first of a two-part blog.
If you’ve read my introduction, you know that I am a Christian, but that I don’t want this to just be for Christians. However, all of my “truth” is colored by common sense and my Christianity. The following will serve as a foundation for my next blog concerning “choice” (it’s a two-part blog).
In the Bible, Matthew 22: 36-40, Jesus teaches us everything we need to know about the choices we make. I call this passage “The Sieve of Choice”. I see it as a filter for making all choices, and Jesus reduces the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament to only two.
Jesus is tempted by a lawyer (imagine that!), who asks Him, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”(Italics mine)
What He was saying is that if you love God first and love others as yourself as well, the other commandments fall into place. You can’t do all of that other stuff forbidden in the Ten Commandments if you love in the way he is talking about. And it’s interesting that He called those two commandments in this New Testament passage.
So this is the filter, or sieve, of choice:
In every situation that presents a choice, three things need to be considered: 1) would it be pleasing to God? 2) would it be good for others? and 3) is it good for me (love thy neighbor as thyself)? If not, your choice should probably be reconsidered.
Not OG’s truth . . . Jesus’ truth.
Additionally, for those of you inclined to look deeper into keeping Jesus’ commandment, look to John 14: 15-31. It talks about keeping tuned in to Jesus. “If you love me, keep my commandments.”
Your choices all matter . . . stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog on “choice”. It will be on pro-life vs pro-choice. It’s guaranteed to surprise you.
OG’s Truth.