To Travel the Good Way
If ever we needed to walk the “good way” that the prophet Jeremiah promoted, that time is now. Corruption has fragmented our government and our courtrooms. Violence and intolerance destroy communities. Something must change. But what is the good way, and how do we walk it?
We know good way lies along the ancient paths, for the prophet tells us so:
Thus says the Lord:
Stand at the crossroads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way lies; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls (Jer 6:16).
So the good way is found along the ancient paths, but what are those?
Biblical Answers
Since this quote is from the Bible, it’s understandable that some commentators would suggest that the ancient paths are the ways of Abraham, Moses, and Adam. What about the paths of even more ancient religions, such as the worship of Ishtar, the queen of heaven?
Jeremiah specifically warns against those ways. For the Hebrew people, these are new ways, ones they hadn’t known before. Thus, speaking for Yahweh, the prophet cries out against them: “The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger” (Jer 7:18).
Perhaps even these ways are not ancient enough. Robert Morgan in his article, “Looking for the Ancient Paths,” suggests we “go back to creation times and further,” to an era before the Hebrews were a people. [1] These eternal truths, he states, are not like the relativistic truths of postmodernism. The idea that there could be multiple roads to God or equally acceptable ways to live a good life, does not sit well with Morgan. For him, morality is simple. The correct way is as old as time, and we recognize it because it “causes things to work together for good in our lives.” [2]
The Unfairness of Life
Is this how we can identify whether or not we are walking the good way, by looking at how fortunate we are in life? Were the Calvinists right after all? Does God love only those who are strong and wealthy?
We would like it to be so simple, that if we are good, we will be rewarded, and if we are bad, we will suffer. When life is not like that, we become affronted. Yet even if we could easily judge the righteous from the sinner, as we grow into adulthood, we learn that sometimes thieves get away with their crimes while the gentle and the generous live in poverty, suffer ill health, and die young.
Life is not fair. The vulnerable are not always protected, and victims do not always receive justice.
Yet as Joel M. Hoffman reminds us in his book, The Bible Doesn’t Say That, we long for equal justice and fairness. That, he says, is why, in the Hebrew Scriptures, God punishes the people for their transgressions. Over and over, the prophets warn them, yet the people will not listen. Finally God smites them. We accept this because it seems fair.
Though we imagine the Christian Scriptures promote forgiveness and compassion over justice, Hoffman disagrees. The Christian text, he explains, promises justice, but not necessarily in this lifetime. Instead, our punishment or reward comes after we die. [3]
The Good Way In Various Religions
What if you don’t believe in a world to come, or you don’t believe in Heaven and Hell? Is there no reason, then, to seek the “good way,” the “ancient paths”?
Throughout the world, religions and philosophies teach us to follow the way of righteousness, regardless of what comes afterwards. Buddhists focus on the here and now, not concerning themselves with the life to come. Nonetheless, they promote the Eightfold Path, a system of right or skillful behavior that doesn’t provide moral lessons so much as it offers a “path to end suffering.” [4]
Taoists talk about the Tao, or the Way, that which is life and creates life. When we are in harmony with the Tao, it brings us long life and joy. We feel at peace, and society becomes ordered. [5]
In Hinduism, each life stage has its own religious responsibility that we are expected to fulfill. If we do right and perform good deeds, we can mitigate past mistakes through the path of karma. [6]
For the Yoruba, the goal of life is to discover our true destiny and live it. Doing so is what puts us on the ancient path, the good way. [7]
It seem that Judaism is not the only good way. Nor is Christianity. Indeed, Stephen Prothero writes in God Is Not One, “Daoist sages seem to laugh far more often, and more lustily, than, say, Jesus or Paul did.” [8]. This may or may not be true, and laughter does not necessarily indicate morality or even peace, but the laughter of one who knows the bliss of inner harmony is appealing, no matter what religious tradition he or she practices.
Choosing the Good Way
I doubt Jeremiah saw it this way. The Hebrew Scriptures are about a relationship between a people and their god, so to worship another deity or engage in foreign rituals would betray that partnership. No wonder Yahweh got angry.
But if we look at what Jeremiah rails against, we will see that most of it has less to do with pagan worship than with cruelty and corruption.
For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely (Jer 6:13).
Yes, Jeremiah believes that by worshiping Ishtar, the Hebrew people have turned away from righteousness. Nonetheless, what Yahweh really wants is for us to turn back to kindness, to fairness, to protection of the poor and vulnerable. We must repent; we must change our hearts.
Natural Consequences
What if we don’t? What if, when we come to the crossroads, we take the easy path, the one that leads to lifeless sin and heartless frivolity?
Like all the prophets, Jeremiah threatens the Hebrew people, saying that if they don’t repent, they will be destroyed. In Jeremiah’s day, Babylonia did invade Israel and make her people captives. According to the prophet, this happened because they refused to do God will.
So did God give the Babylonians power over Israel? Surely we don’t need God’s intervention to be overwhelmed by our enemies. Sometimes these things happen, for no discernible reason.
On the other hand, sometimes pain and suffering are natural consequences of a righteous choice refused. For instance, a city where trust is rare and violence common will be weak. Neighbors will hardly rally together for mutual support. Would this not make them vulnerable to attack?
We see this in our personal lives, as well. When we denigrate others, violate their rights, betray their trust, we end up alone. At times, we can fool others, but eventually they figure us out. Then they will reject us. Families turn away from entrenched addicts who lie and steal and manipulate. The bitter and entitled may amass power, wealth, and control, but their hearts will be shriveled and their relationships strained.
In violence and anger, there is no rest.
Making a Choice
Every day, we stand at a crossroads. Which path should we travel?
Pay attention. Look closely. In recovery circles, people talk of playing the tape all the way through. Do we choose the easy way, the one that feeds our addictions, leading to numbness, enthrallment, and slavery of the heart and soul and mind? Do we choose avarice, self-righteousness, injustice, the abuse of power?
I know of no religion or philosophy that encourages this. Even atheists promote civility.
Though the specifics may differ from one faith tradition to another, religions share basic values of kindness, compassion, fairness, and generosity. Spiritual practices and rituals also differ from one faith to another, yet all of them have the goal of bringing us closer to our god, to the Way, to our destiny. They help us become our best selves, to live as we are meant to. They help us know the joy of being one with our creator and with the universe.
So choose the ancient paths along which lie the good way. Travel that path, and catch yourself when you stray. In this way, you will “find rest for your souls.” In this way, you will improve your own life, and you will make our society better.
In faith and fondness,
Barbara
Credits
- Morgan, Robert J., “Looking for the Ancient Paths,” Huffington Post, February 1, 2016, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-j-morgan/looking-for-the-ancient-p_b_9131956.html, accessed 8/2/18.
- Ibid.
- Hoffman, Joel M., The Bible Doesn’t Say That, New York: Thomas Dunne, 2016, 229.
- Breuilly, Elizabeth, Joanne O’Brien, and Martin Palmer, Relgions of the World, New York: Facts on File, 1997, 109.
- Prothero, Stephen, God Is Not One, New York: HarperOne, 2010, 288 and 293.
- Breuilly, Elizabeth, Joanne O’Brien, and Martin Palmer, Religions of the World, New York: Facts on File, 1997, 89 and 102.
- Prothero 204.
- Ibid 283.
Photo by Vladislav Babienko on Unsplash
Copyright © 2018 Barbara E. Stevens