Here, God offers a choice to Israel. One leads to death and adversity. The other to life and prosperity. We face the same choice every day. We can choose whether we will love God and neighbor. We can choose to seek justice, act with kindness, and live with humility. Or we can choose to live selfishly, to turn inwardly, and to view others through the lens of our self-righteousness and pride.
How does loving God and walking in God’s ways lead to life—for yourself, but also for the people around you? What are the commandments you struggle to keep? What other ‘gods’ in your life might be leading to death—physical death, but also the death of hope, relationship, peace, or joy?
In prayer, commit yourself to following God’s ways of peace, justice, and mercy.