"The Commandment"

"In the final chapters of the Book of Joshua we hear Joshua's last words to the people. He sets a vocation before the people and asks them once again to choose the Lord. He says, "Stand firm...and fulfill all that is written...never turning aside from it to right or left" (23:6, JB). Then he says to obey the commandments, which we immediately think refers to the Ten Commandments. The commandment, in fact, is to trust the one God. That is the commandment they are called to live by. It is in that relationship that they find their power. "Do not utter the names of [other] gods. Do not swear by them" (23:7, JB). To our world God says: Do not put your trust in gods that cannot save - your looks, intelligence, money, your home. Do not put your trust in your children, wife, husband, your high position. They cannot save you. What is your money going to do for you? God is security, the rock of our salvation. No one has trusted in God and ever been put to shame."
- Richard Rohr, from The Great Themes of Scripture