19 The Lord also said to Moses, ² “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

³ “Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest. I am the Lord your God.

⁴ “Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.

⁵ “When you sacrifice a peace offering to the Lord, offer it properly so you will be accepted by God. ⁶ The sacrifice must be eaten on the same day you offer it or on the next day. Whatever is left over until the third day must be completely burned up. ⁷ If any of the sacrifice is eaten on the third day, it will be contaminated, and I will not accept it. ⁸ Anyone who eats it on the third day will be punished for defiling what is holy to the Lord and will be cut off from the community.

⁹ “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. ¹⁰ It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.

¹¹ “Do not steal.

“Do not deceive or cheat one another.

¹² “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord.

¹³ “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.

“Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay.

¹⁴ “Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.

¹⁵ “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.

¹⁶ “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.

“Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the Lord.

¹⁷ “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.

¹⁸ “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:1-18

Dear God, when I read the Old Testament reading for the Church this morning, it made me think of the poster from years ago: “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten.”

Sure, this advice isn’t exactly the same, but your commands are basically that we be good people and treat people well. It makes me wonder what kind of commands followers of Baal wrote down as from him. What does the Quran say we should do? Are there any other Gods that simply call us to be good people? It seems like what I hear about the other ancient religions of this time is that they celebrate selfishness. The god is selfish and it encourages the people to be selfish. I don’t know this for a fact, but it seems like passages like this are what set you apart from what the world is calling me to. What my idols are calling me to. My idols tell me to max out my bank accounts and keep my money for myself. My idols tell me to get my wife to meet all my needs. My idols tell me to look to my government for safety and security and my children and job for self-esteem.

Father, you tell me to just worship you and be nice. Do the right thing. Do the right thing by you. Do the right thing by others. Be on the lookout for how I might serve. And I’ll be the first to say that I miss a lot of opportunities to love you and love others. I’m sorry for that. Help me to be better today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen