Sirach 15:1-20: a reflection

1He who fears the Lord will do this. He who has possession of the law will obtain her. 2She will meet him like a mother, and receive him like a wife married in her virginity. 3She will feed him with bread of understanding and give him water of wisdom to drink. 4He will be stayed upon her, and will not be moved. He will rely upon her, and will not be confounded. 5She will exalt him above his neighbors. She will open his mouth in the midst of the congregation. 6He will inherit joy, a crown of gladness, and an everlasting name. 7Foolish men will not obtain her. Sinners will not see her. 8She is far from pride. Liars will not remember her. 9Praise is not attractive in the mouth of a sinner; for it was not sent to him from the Lord. 10For praise will be spoken in wisdom; The Lord will prosper it. 11Don’t say, “It is through the Lord that I fell away;” for you shall not do the things that he hates. 12Don’t say, “It is he that caused me to err;” for he has no need of a sinful man. 13The Lord hates every abomination; and those who fear him don’t love them. 14He himself made man from the beginning and left him in the hand of his own counsel. 15If you choose, you can keep the commandments. To be faithful is a matter of your choice. 16He has set fire and water before you. You will stretch forth your hand to whichever you desire. 17Before man is life and death. Whichever he likes, it will be given to him. 18For the wisdom of the Lord is great. He is mighty in power, and sees all things. 19His eyes are upon those who fear him. He knows every act of man. 20He has not commanded any man to be ungodly. He has not given any man license to sin.

This passage insists on something we are often eager to avoid: personal responsibility for our choices. God, it says, made man from the beginning and left him in the power of his own choice. If you choose, you can keep the commandments. He has set before you fire and water, life and death; whichever you choose will be given you. The freedom is real, and so is the responsibility that comes with it.

And the passage directly forbids a favorite dodge: do not say, it was the Lord who led me astray; do not say, he caused me to sin. God does not tempt anyone to evil or hand out permission to sin. We are quick, when we have done wrong, to shift the blame, to circumstances, to how we were made, to God himself, to anything but our own choice. This sage cuts that off. The choice was yours; own it.

That is a hard word, but a dignifying one. To have real freedom, fire and water set before us, life and death, is to be treated as responsible agents, not puppets, and that means we cannot honestly blame God for the wrong we choose. There is a strange respect in being held responsible. And there is freedom in owning our choices rather than excusing them: only what we own can be repented of and changed. Do not blame God for your sins. Take responsibility for your choices, own the wrong honestly, and then turn and choose life.

Lord, you have given me real freedom and set before me life and death, and I am quick to blame you or my circumstances for the wrong I choose. Keep me from that dodge. Help me own my choices honestly, take responsibility for my sins rather than excusing them, and then turn and choose life. Thank you for the dignity of being treated as responsible before you.