...17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob... - DEUTERONOMY 30:17-20
Over the years I driven a lot of miles. Whether as a case manager when transported my clients all over the city or when driving hundreds of miles in every direction to visit good friends and family. In recent years I've come to rely on Google Maps to provide me with the shortest drive time on my travels. It has proven itself a worthy companion in its ability to circumventive approaching congestion, accidents, and construction.
When it comes to driving, I believe all of us are a fan of short cuts. I mean who doesn't like getting to their destination as smoothly and quickly as possible? When it comes to living, however, Moses here in Deut 30 counsels us against taking short cuts. Moses warns that short cuts ultimately result in short lives. Instead, he heartens the people of Israel to choose the long road of obedience and faithfulness that promises long lives.
You don't have to posses a marketing degree to notice how most commercials entice consumers with short cuts. Some promise rapid weight loss, while others promote rapid muscle build up. Some ensure fast tracks to wealth, while others guarantee your true love is just a quick click away. And yet for the promotions and promises, these short cuts often leave consumers feeling short changed.
For all their wisdom on how to get and obtain, short cuts cannot offer any advice as how to keep and maintain. They don't have any recommendations on how to keep weight off or preserve muscle tone. Shorts cuts offer no answers on how remain good stewards of money or sustain a new love for 60 years and beyond. In reality, one's ability to comprehend such recommendations and answers will require a lengthy stretch of road marked with patience and perseverance.
While there's always a reason for joy and praise along the way, the long road often passes through places that are not enjoyable or necessary safe. And time and time again, we will tempted to circumventive approaching heartache, bypass impending sacrifice, and avoid oncoming grief. Yet the long road still better than the short cut not because it is always fun, easy, or safe, but because it is right.
Even when faithful lives are cut short by cancer and bike accidents, the long road of hope and trust can teach how such events allow the faithful to start living the life they've always yearned for and that is life everlasting. For us the living, each morning when we wake the choice is set before us, short cuts or long roads. Despite the uncertainties each new day brings, I choose life. I look forward to greeting you along the way as together we walk the long road.
CJE