Are you a good person?
I mean, obviously you are. You are reading Rabbi A’s blog, so that alone means you are among the best.
Zero trace of bias here.
Well, good news! In this week’s parsha, God guarantees rewards for all the good people!
God lays out a straight-forward equation:
You keep all the mitzvos, you’ll get the good stuff.
You’ll get some quality land (and let’s face it, with current property values, that alone is worth it). You’ll get lots of delicious food and wine (and when you are stuck at home during a pandemic, having quality snacks and alcohol are really a must). You won’t have to worry about illness anymore. (I’m not sure if that means you’ll get to cut in line to get a coronavirus vaccine, but might be worth a try just in case).
Sounds great right? In fact, it almost sounds too great… Like, what is the catch? Do I have to give my credit card information to a Nigerian prince before all of this can be mine?
Well, the Torah lists the catch. It says:
When you have eaten your fill, and have built fine houses to live in, and your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold have increased, and everything you own has prospered, beware lest your heart grow haughty and you forget the LORD your God… and you say to yourselves, “My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me”… I warn you this day that you shall certainly perish.
Deuteronomy 8:11-8:20
Harsh
What’s interesting though is the Torah could have said this more simply: do good- get good, do bad- get bad. But it doesn’t do that. It seems to assume that you’ll do good (because why wouldn’t you), and only after you are rewarded, after you become wealthy and comfortable, that’s when God is concerned that you will fall.
You see, wealth creates a test that the poor don’t really have to face. It creates the illusion that you are in total control of your own life and don’t need God. It might give you the impression that you created all the good in your life yourself and that God wasn’t even involved. It might lead you to think that you needn’t worship anything but yourself…
That is the biggest test.
We are all good people when the tests are simple. We all know not to murder or steal. The challenge lies with the more subtle tests. When you are already on top, do you still believe in God, or do you only talk to your Father in Heaven when you need something?
Once God has already given you all the good in the world, will you still value your relationship with Him? Will you remember the true source of all of your blessings?
Will you pass the test?
