Deut. 20-22
In the first few verses of Deut. 20, God tells His people not to be afraid of their enemies who are greater than they – this is not a pep talk, it is the law! It is a command to trust God. This falls in line with my thought that it is a lack of trust in God that is at the root of sin. Eve took the apple because she did not trust what God had told her. We lust after and covet all sorts of things because we don’t trust that God meets all our needs. We seek other ‘gods’ because we don’t trust that God fulfills us completely. And we fear, because we don’t trust that God is good, that nothing is impossible with Him, and that He deeply cares for us.
Luke 6:1-26
The blessings and woes that Jesus talks about here – He isn’t saying that you have to be sad and poor and un-liked to be blessed and righteous. Rather, He is making a distinction between those who live for the here and now, seeking first their own pleasures, and those who live for God, storing up their treasures in Heaven, as He later states. Maybe the key is in yesterday’s reading of Deut. 17, where God is saying that the kings should not do things such as “acquire silver and gold for themselves.” We know that God gave Solomon an abundance of silver and gold and so much more. But God gave it to him, he did not seek it for himself. So back to the point in Luke – it is not about the riches or the food or the laughter or people liking you or not. It is about what you seek and pursue. Seek and pursue God, and if He chooses to bless you with these other things, consider yourself blessed.