Devotionals by Dr. M. Craig Barnes
See I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse... --
Life is filled with choices, and many of them are quite difficult. The more we value something, like our careers or relationships, the harder it is to make choices about them. That's because we are terrified of making a mistake about something so important.
From the perspective of heaven, however, most of our choices about careers and relationships don't really matter all that much. The Bible has already told you all that God cares to say about such matters. No, you can't murder your boss. Yes, you can quit your job and get another one if you want. No, you don't have to be married. Yes, you do have to forgive those who hurt you.
"Now," the Bible would say, "let's move on to something really important. Do you want a blessing or a curse from God?"
According to Deuteronomy, to ask for God's blessings is to ask for God. To ask for a curse is to ask for a different god, like a relationship or your career. The curse is that the true God will allow you to make these things your god, just long enough for them to suck away your soul.
I'm not sure why people keep choosing the curse, unless it's because they would rather have a god they can control than the Mysterious One they cannot. But only by bowing before the Mystery can we receive a mysterious future. And only then do we know the blessing of being truly alive.
-- Craig Barnes