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Why?

           These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. (Deuteronomy 6:1-3)

This passage is the lead up to the Shema, where Moses declares that God is one, and that we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. If a parent were saying something like this to their child, they’d say “I want you to listen to me, because I’m telling you this for your own good.  You’ll thank me someday.”

And the kid would roll his eyes and think, Here we go again.

How often are we like the kid? Too often, I know that doing something is not a good idea, but I do it anyway. Most of the time, it’s not a big thing. I eat a spoonful of peanut butter or a piece of cheese that I don’t need, or I watch some TV instead of reading, cleaning, writing, or whatever. I’ve listened to people tell me, “I know it’s probably a mistake, but…” and “It’s my life, and you have to let me make my own mistakes.”

I’ve shared the results of studies that show that the family structure that provides the best environment for a man, for a woman, and for their children is the traditional structure of father and mother who remain married to one another and who raise their children as a team. And I get told, “Yeah, but we can’t all live like that” and “You don’t know how abusive (or dysfunctional) my father (or mother) is.”

I may not, but that doesn’t mean that the traditional family is not the best structure. Even if your family can’t be that family, shouldn’t we promote what is best as the best? Instead, the politically correct world demands that we promote and celebrate all the structures that aren’t as good, or that even fail.

God told the Israelites how to live so that they could have the best possible lives. He’s told us as well. Why can’t we at least be honest with ourselves? Why do we have to pretend that we’re not being stupid when we shoot ourselves in the foot by doing things we know won’t help us in the long run?

And why do we insist that others praise us for it? I can't help but think of the movie Ground Hog's Day.

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