"Oh, that they would always have hearts like this..."

I've decided to pick back up on the discipline of the blog. I will pray that I can stick with it, and not be distracted by life, but I will also pray for forgiveness when I do. I've been thinking a lot about tithing lately, and tithing my time, as well as my money, in this way, seems appropriate to my gifts.

The reading for today, which was the first day I picked up a bible in a *long* time, was Deuteronomy 5:1-6:25 and Luke 7:11-35. Surprisingly (although not really, when one recognizes God's influence in one's life, and His responses to prayers) was the fact that the first time I picked up the bible in forever, I had one of the most salient portions of OT scripture written, the section concerning the 10 commandments.

When Moses is talking with God, after delivering the 10 commandments, and after the people, trembling in fear, ask him to talk more with God, God, understanding human nature, prospectively bemoans the fate of humanity. He states, "Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever."

God offers a glimpse of future changes in perspective, creating changes in focus for His people, knowing how their hearts will fall away, and grieving the fall. He offers a promise, yet knows that the promise will not be fulfilled. It's interesting to think of God in pain, but He sounds, in this section, like His heart is breaking for humanity.

Putting aside all the predeterministic doctrinal theology that this concept conjures, and just looking at it on its face, it's a telling commentary on the temporal nature of faith from a race of humans, easily distracted in this world. He knows that future advancements in knowledge, and the search for knowledge for the sake of knowledge, even well intentioned, will become its own focus, its own god, in its time, and His promises will go largely unheard, and unheeded.

The echoes of this thought are discussed later in the same reading, in Deuteronomy 6:20.

"In the future, your children will ask you, 'What is the meaning of these stipulations, laws, and regulations that the Lord our God has given us?' Then you must tell them, 'We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with amazing power.' "

Later in this section, "...and the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these laws and to fear him, for our prosperity and well-being as is now the case. For we are righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us."

The presage of the ultimate change in perspective of future generations to look back and wonder, why, about the validity of these commandments is clearly demonstrated in this section. I hear, so often, about the change in society, technology, and morality obviating these archaic rules. Why should we follow rules of a primitive culture, when we are no longer primitives? I know I am the future generation that the bible discusses.

The bible in this section instructs us to put these rules in reference to the current events of the time, as a way of explaining them, but clearly uses the present tense when describing the validity of the rules.

We *are* righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.

The Bible doesn't say, it was a bad time then, and we "were" righteous, when we "followed" them. It is that we "are" righteous in following them, despite the technologically less advanced status of humanity at that time. The validity of the commandments is unchanging, despite the cultural change that is, and will always be, upcoming. As God bemoans His future displacement in the worship of His people, He knows that the temporal changing of society will tempt a re-interpretation of these commands, and that the children of future generations will ask not only for historical perspective, but moral perspective as well, and so the present tense is emphasized here. We "are" righteous, despite ipods, ipads, internet, mp3's, test-tube babies, transgender assignment rights, etc, we "are" righteous when we obey the commands given to us in a history that may now seem irrelevant, but the commands remain valid despite a history that seems so removed.

What do the commandments say? I'm sure there are 6 billion interpretations of them, as people struggle with them personally. To me they say, seek significance in following Me, and you will always make the right choices. He gave us concrete examples to keep us focused on Him, by not coveting possessions of others, by dedicating time to Him, by explicitly outlawing *all* idolatry. It's about retaining focus, not on things of this world, but seeking God, first and foremost.

As future generations find idolatry in technology, and our attention is drawn away from Him, as He predicts, His heart breaks, as we see. Yet, focusing on Him, as the 10 commandments help us to do, creates righteousness, despite the future technological wonders we will be discovering. In the last section of the NT reading, Jesus comments on wisdom, in a way that reveals yet another echo to this.

"But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it." Luke 7:35

Even in the Proverbs reading of the day, "The fool will be a servant to the wise." (Proverbs 11:29)

Wisdom is defined as seeking God, fearing God, and honoring God, throughout the Bible. Not by making a god out of one's personal (and ultimately flawed, because we are human) rationalization of God's commands, as the Pharisees did, but by humbly seeking God in what we do. Technology changes. Culture changes. God, the nature of God, doesn't change, and wisdom lies in seeking that, honoring it, placing a desire for Him first and foremost in our hearts. Once we do that, we can look around at the technologic marvels in this world, and understand them in their true context, without making gods of them that we use to re-interpret God in their light. It's an issue of focus, and Jesus promises us that wisdom creates its own validity, provable by the lives of those who follow wisdom.

How many other things are there for this "future generation" to worship, besides God? Millions of things. Yet, overall, how many things are there to worship that will create righteousness? One, one God. What happens when our focus shifts to the worship of these millions of other things, and they become our god? I think that Tolstoy re-stated the answer simply, in the first line of "Anna Karenina,"

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Wisdom is a reflection of seeking the immutable nature of God, and placing that search first and foremost in our hearts, despite our temporal existence in a changeable world that tempts us to re-interpret the commands of God using current culture ethics. This re-interpretation automatically creates false gods out of the tools we choose to re-interpret, and ultimately makes gods of ourselves, as we *choose* the tools we decide to use to re-interpret God. These false gods lead us into being unhappy in the unique way offered by the false god one chooses to follow, delivering unhappiness to the third and fourth generation.

It has always been this way. It will always be this way. Therein lies the validity of seeking God, and honoring Him in the 10 commandments. We have historical perspective, but we have eternal truths, that exist beyond the temporal nature of this changing world. And we have been given proof, by Jesus, that this way will always work, and a grimly humorous reminder by Tolstoy, how other ways don't.

I sat on my deck today, and thanked God that He let me live long enought to outlive the foolish behavior of my earlier life, and offers me, every day, another chance for wisdom. Is that, in itself, wisdom? If so, then how blessed am I? How blessed are we all, that we have another day to seek Him?