Sirach 7:17-36: a reflection

17Humble your soul greatly, for the punishment of the ungodly man is fire and the worm. 18Don’t exchange a friend for something, neither a true brother for the gold of Ophir. 19Don’t deprive yourself of a wise and good wife, for her grace is worth more than gold. 20Don’t abuse a servant who works faithfully, or a hireling who gives you his life. 21Let your soul love a wise servant. Don’t defraud him of liberty. 22Do you have cattle? Look after them. If they are profitable to you, let them stay by you. 23Do you have children? Correct them, and make them obedient from their youth. 24Do you have daughters? Take care of their bodies, and don’t be overly indulgent toward them. 25Give your daughter in marriage, and you will have accomplished a great matter. Give her to a man of understanding. 26Do you have a wife who pleases you? Don’t cast her out. But don’t trust yourself to one who is hateful. 27Honor your father with your whole heart, and don’t forget the birth pangs of your mother. 28Remember that you were born of them. What will you repay them for the things that they have done for you? 29Fear the Lord with all your soul; and revere his priests. 30With all your strength love him who made you. Don’t forsake his ministers. 31Fear the Lord and honor the priest. Give him his portion, even as it is commanded you: the first fruits, the trespass offering, the gift of the shoulders, the sacrifice of sanctification, and the first fruits of holy things. 32Also stretch out your hand to the poor man, that your blessing may be complete. 33A gift has grace in the sight of every living man. Don’t withhold grace for a dead man. 34Don’t avoid those who weep, and mourn with those who mourn. 35Don’t be slow to visit a sick man, for by such things you will gain love. 36In all your words, remember eternity, and you will never sin.

This passage gathers many practical counsels for living rightly: humble yourself, value your friends, honor your parents, treat your servants justly, care for the poor, mourn with those who mourn, visit the sick. And it closes with a principle that ties them all together: In all you do, remember your end, and you will never sin. Keeping the end in view, remembering that this life leads to an accounting before God, is presented as a guard against sin and a guide to right living.

Notice the closing counsel: remember your end, and you will never sin. Much of what leads us astray is a forgetting of the end, living as though this moment were all, as though there were no accounting to come. But the remembrance of our end, that we will one day stand before God and give account, changes how we live now. It puts our choices in a longer light, weighing them not only by present desire but by what they will mean at the end. Keeping the end in view guards against much sin.

That counsel is a wise one for us. We tend to live absorbed in the present moment, forgetting the end, and so we make choices we would not make if we remembered we must give account to God. But to keep our end in view, to remember that we will stand before God, is a strong guard against sin and a guide to right living. In your choices, remember your end; weigh what you do not only by present desire, but by what it will mean when you stand before God. Live in the light of eternity, keeping your end in view, and you will be guarded against much that would lead you astray. The forgetting of the end opens the door to sin; keep it in view, as this passage counsels, and let the remembrance of your accounting to God shape how you live now.

Lord, this passage gathers many practical counsels, humility, valuing friends, honoring parents, caring for the poor, mourning with mourners, visiting the sick, and closes with a principle that ties them together: in all I do, remember my end, and I will never sin. Show me the wisdom of that. Much of what leads me astray is a forgetting of the end, living as though this moment were all, as though there were no accounting to come. But the remembrance of my end, that I will one day stand before you and give account, changes how I live now. It puts my choices in a longer light, weighing them not only by present desire but by what they will mean at the end. I tend to live absorbed in the present moment, forgetting the end, and so I make choices I would not make if I remembered I must give account to you. Help me keep my end in view, remembering that I will stand before you, as a strong guard against sin and a guide to right living. In my choices, help me remember my end, weighing what I do by what it will mean when I stand before you. Help me live in the light of eternity, Lord, keeping my end in view, guarded against what would lead me astray.