God’s justice starts with life
Sacrificing selfishness and embracing selflessness.
By Cecily Routman
When Abraham learned that Sodom would be destroyed, he bargained with God to spare the city if only a few righteous people lived there. Not even ten could be identified. In addition to out-of-control sexual impropriety, the people of Sodom made selflessness a capital crime! Anyone giving aid and comfort to the poor and needy received the death penalty.
Fireballs and sulfuric acid rained down on Sodom. Everyone perished except Lot and his daughters, who thought that they were the only humans left on earth. They assumed responsibility for re-establishing humanity by drowning Lot’s inhibitions in alcohol. They each produced a son, whose descendants became two of the Canaanite tribes destined to cross paths with the Israelites as they entered the Holy Land.
As promised, Abraham and Sarah produced a son, Isaac. When Isaac turned 38 years old, his father passed the ultimate spiritual test of faith and surrendered to God when he obeyed the order to sacrifice Isaac, just as he would an animal sacrifice. At the final moment, God stays the execution and Isaac was spared. Abraham experienced great joy in both his willingness to do God’s will and Isaac’s reprieve.
Abraham experienced powerful spiritual growth elsewhere as well. Shortly after God reveals His presence, three angels masquerading as men arrive on Abraham’s doorstep. Abraham then prioritizes the needs of the visitors over spiritual self-interest. He leaves the presence of the Almighty to see to his guests.
How did God respond? He loved Abraham even more! The message is clear. Until we become willing to sacrifice our selfishness, a true relationship with our Creator – through selflessness – eludes us.
In Genesis 18:19, we are encouraged to act in a righteous manner according to Divine justice. It considers life the highest priority. We know this from the moral document that calls for the sanctity of the human being as made in God’s image. Divine justice is not served when people contribute time and money to help vulnerable parents destroy their pre-born babies. It is served, however, when people contribute time and resources to help vulnerable parents choose life. Everyone benefits. First the baby, then the family, the community, and the nation.
In 2 Kings 4, our spirit is nourished with stories of great faith and proof of God’s presence in our lives. The prophet Elisha helps a widow avoid indenturing her sons to pay her debts. He promises elderly, married couple a baby; they conceive a son. Later, the toddler dies suddenly from what seems to us to be a neurological event and Elisha restores his life.
Cecily Routman is the President of the Jewish Pro-Life Foundation, an educational non-profit founded in 2007 to promote life-saving solutions to unplanned pregnancy in the Jewish community. www.jewishprolifefoundation.org
