There are days when I don't want to think about the hundreds of moral possibilities, the gray areas on which so many people have so many differing opinions. Should I give money to people in need though there is a chance they will spend it on something harmful to themselves or others? Is it okay to lie to one to protect another? Which is kinder: confronting people about their poor choices or letting them discover it for themselves? Such questions can plague and overwhelm me.
Thankfully, Hebrews 5:14 recognizes that one's "powers of discernment" need to be trained "by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." Though we are blessed with commandments like the solid ten in Deuteronomy 5, which directs, among other things, not to steal, murder, or commit adultery, there will be plenty of times when we will have to consider more than the obvious. Perhaps, this is why Psalm 119 contains requests for open eyes (vs. 18), understanding (vs. 27), enlargement (vs. 32) and inclination (vs. 36) of the heart, and teaching (vs. 66) of good judgment. We won't always know the answer, but this can get us in the habit of turning to one who does.
And ultimately, maybe this is what living in today, "as long as it is called 'today'," (Hebrews 3:13), is all about: seeking God in the moments we find ourselves. "[S]eek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 4:29).
If we don't want to enter a state of the living dead, as is given in Ezekiel's vision with the valley of dry bones (37:1-14), then we need to turn to the Lord and he will breathe life in us, a life that helps us to be examples for others (1 Peter Chapter 5:5), even when its hard.
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