Devotional on Deuteronomy

2014 – Along Oregon Hwy 101 – north of Florence

Situational ethics
Deuteronomy 13: Do the right thing in the eyes of God, your God.
“Situational ethics: wrong is not always wrong and right is not always right.” “There are no absolutes.” “Whatโ€™s wrong for you may not be wrong for me.” These are the creeds of our day. Sin is out and self-realization is in. Excuse the poor English, but it ain’t so. We have a Creator who is an ethical Being. He says that no matter who you are, or where (or when) you live, that there are universal standards of right and wrong. These aren’t arbitrary rules made up by some kill joy preacher and they aren’t the result of mere superstition. That isn’t to say that every rule and regulation of the Church is pure and above question. In fact, in this passage I note that Moses doesn’t say, “There are community standards of decency that must be observed.” Rather, he says, “Do the right thing in the eyes of God.” First, that means there are some actions that are always right and some that are always wrong; no matter who, when, or where. Second, it means that God is the Judge of whether or not those standards have been met in our lives. Now, some might take comfort in reminding me that Iโ€™m not their judge. Thatโ€™s fine with me. I have plenty of my own concerns to address. However, it needs to be clearly stated that there is a Judge and each of us is accountable to him.
Take Away: I canโ€™t please everybody, but, for the sake of my own soul, I must please God.

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