Majoring in Minors, Minoring in Majors

Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.” – Numbers 12:1-2 (NIV) 

Determining what’s really important and pertinent to our lives is an ongoing struggle. Too often we confuse the tangential with the essential.  

The children of ancient Israel had been delivered from bondage in Egypt, but they faced colossal challenges as they sought to possess their land of promise. They had settlements to negotiate, communities to build, children to nurture, and a destiny to realize.  

But in the midst of these awesome challenges and opportunities, Miriam and Aaron turned their attention to the personal prerogatives of their brother Moses. They murmured against Moses’ selection of a woman from Ethiopia (a Cushite) to be his wife. 

How sad that even to this day, so many people choose to neglect the pertinent matters of the common good in favor their self-righteous quests to regulate the personal liberties of other individuals. While many Americans struggle with high costs of living, some can focus only on the limitation of women’s reproductive rights and gender-affirming care. While public schools falter and prisons multiply, there are those who think it is of vital importance to trend on TikTok or troll on Facebook. 

Isn’t it time that we redeem the time by reassessing our priorities and deciding what’s really important? 

Prayer
Gracious God, please give us discernment to know what is pertinent and vital to our common good. And give us respect for the individual liberties of all. Amen.

About the Author
Kenneth L. Samuel is Pastor of Victory for the World Church, Decatur, Georgia.