Exodus 15:26
Then God said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, Who heals you."
Here I am focusing on, "do what is right in His eyes." We are to formulate our days and value our own lives by God, what He says about us, what we are to do, how we are to think; not any other human being. When we consider our worth by another person, that is called co-dependence, which is dysfunctional. We each stand before our Master, not before one another. We are not to put another human being above us as the determiner of our worth--that's God's place.
I don't know how many times I've read in the Bible that we are to "be careful," "listen carefully." "pay attention." To really listen to what God says takes a concerted effort. I can't just read carelessly and expect to absorb God's ways by osmosis, I have to narrow my focus onto what God is actually saying to me. I need to remember what I read and think about it as I go about my day. I need to sit down and really ponder what it means, and how I am to incorporate it into my thinking and my attitudes. I need to constantly muse on how all the principles fit together into a comprehensive program that affects all of my life.
This is what all the laws, rules, commandments, regulations and decrees were to teach the Hebrews. This whole Law was to direct God's people into living their lives God's way. Then God would bless them with great worldly prosperity and healthy relationships with one another. And they would enjoy exceptional physical health, also.
Today we can read all these pages and discern the basic principles that underlie the laws. Jesus fulfilled all the letter of these laws; now He has written these principles on our hearts, to understand why He had the Israelis do the things they were to do. So we are to "obey" at a much deeper level: we can align our thinking and attitudes with the ideas behind the statutes, and not just consider our actions. Actions are the final result of what we have already thought about, considered and decided.
People look at the outward, what we do. But God looks into our hearts and souls, to see our inward motivations and reasons for why we do what we do, and He is the One to Whom we will give account.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
