Do or do not
Deuteronomy Chapters 29 and 30 Read it here
Simple does not mean easy.
Sometimes things are simple because the choice is so clear—but whatever choice made is going to take hard work.
In one of the most popular philosophical works of the 20th Century, Yoda tells Luke Skywalker, “Do or do not; there is no try.” In the Star Wars universe, that do or do not is about a mystical life force; in ours it is about the one almighty God.
Today’s reading is a covenant renewal, a call for the Hebrew people to recommit to obedience to God’s leading. The stakes are high. Moses says in 30:15, “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.”
“Do or do not” doesn’t get more stark than that.
When faced with a major decision, many of us overthink and over-complicate.
Moses warns against that.
“Now what I am commanding you is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so that we may obey it?’ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.’”
We would like to say we don’t understand God’s law so we can excuse ourselves from following it. The sad truth is that we don’t like the parts we do understand, so we try to keep looking.
When Yoda gave his sage advice to Luke, we know that Luke still had a lot to learn, but we also know that his first task was to obediently follow the knowledge he already had.
That’s our challenge, too. Follow that part of God’s law you know, and continue searching for more.