Deuteronomy today

The news today is dominated by talk about the economy. With the fall of some big financial entities and the crisis with AIG there is quite a bit of finger-pointing and analysis going on. Some of the analysis had a bit of a moral tone that is unusual on the typical news circuit. "Greed" was mentioned several times. Questions were raised about "irresponsibility" and "entitlement". What do our economic woes have to do with my studies in Deuteronomy? You may recall that Deuteronomy is a collection of the "final words" of Moses directed at the Hebrews before they entered into the Promised Land. Among the reminders that Moses provided the people, he shared that the journey through the wilderness was a purposeful journey. The journey humbled them, tested them and revealed what was in their hearts. I can't help but believe that some of our woes in America revealed that this kind of journey has been circumvented. Humility is viewed as a vice rather than a virtue. Our pace is much too fast to waste time on a journey. We just want we want when we want it whether we can afford it or not. The prevailing attitude is "if I can figure out a way to get it now I'm ready for it now". Greed thrives in that kind of environment. Deuteronomy holds many golden principles for us that counter that kind of thinking. I look forward to unpacking some of these for myself in the next few weeks.