Not Always the Easy Is the Best

"If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will watch over you. See, the whole earth is before you; go where it seems best and most comfortable for you to go. If you prefer to stay, return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam … and live with him in the midst of the people, or go where you see fit to go... Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and dwelt with him in the midst of the people that were left in the land" (Jeremiah 40 :4-6).

When the Babylonians took Jerusalem, the captain of the guard, by order of King Nebuchadnezzar, treated Jeremiah benevolently and made him a very generous offer: that he go with him to Babylon where he would live peacefully, surrounded by security and full of provisions. He promised her that he himself would see to it that it was so. But he left it to the choice of the prophet, who could also choose to stay in Jerusalem.

Now, staying in Judah together with a few inhabitants that the Babylonians had left there represented serious difficulties and dangers for Jeremiah: he would have to live in scarcity, in the midst of a devastated nation whose houses had been consumed by fire; he would have to live in the midst of an unprotected city, for the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down, and he would be constantly exposed to danger and calamity. And the latter was what Jeremiah decided to choose!

This contains a great example and teaching for all of us. Human instinct generally leads most to avoidance of difficulty; he proposes to flee to where he can find facilities.

But in times of crisis, faced with the option of resorting to the most pleasant or the most painful, choosing the first option may not be what God wants for us. Let us imitate the example of Jeremiah filling ourselves with faith, courage and love for God and his people.

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