A Thought

“Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.”  Psalm 16:4

While the psalmist may be referring to certain Canaanite religions in which a god is named, a god that perhaps demands human sacrifice or requires the use of temple prostitutes, we may consider the many gods in our world and in our lives that take too much of our attention and tempt us away from the One True God.  We often easily pronounce judgment on these persons, but the psalmist seems to lament the lives which are thrust upon these who worship such false gods.  Think about it; a god that demands the blood of your first-born?  Or a religion that uses temple prostitutes to lure your spouse from you?  This was as real as it could get for them, and it is no less real for us today.

Remember that St. John challenges his readers to “test the spirits, whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1).  This does not mean we seek peace in our own decisions according to our own desires, but rather submit all we have and all we are to what is written in the Scriptures “which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 John 3:15).  Those of the Canaanite religions were easily swayed because of the culture in which they lived; no less so than we are today because of how we are informed by our secular culture.

Hold fast to what is true and right; He is Christ the Lord.  He will show us the Way, but we must be willing to follow Him.  Then will we find the fullness of life now and in the world to come.

Blessings to the Easter people!

Michael