God pays us the compliment of allowing us a multitude of choices in life. The most fundamental choice he grants us is that between "life and good" and "death and evil" as today's first reading puts it. Of course we are rarely faced with such a stark choice but we do have to choose.

It is hard to understand how a fellow human being "chooses" personal advantage at the cost of thousands of human lives. We see this happening in the case of rulers who hang on to power at all costs even when they are manifestly incapable of serving the people efficiently and justly.

The reading from Deuteronomy, however, warns us with compassion and clarity, that all our choices are important and that some of them can bring life or death in their train.

The Gospel presents us with choice in even more personal terms. The disciples are being asked to opt for a leader and friend whom they growing to love but whom they do not yet fully understand. If they follow him "to the end" they will undoubtedly suffer a loss since every choice involves a loss. Was the loss worth the choice they made? I am sure that for any of them the answer would be a resounding "Yes."

Small evil choices may lead to a great evil. Our small good choices will lead to a resounding victory and an equally resounding "Yes" in response to the question, "Were they worth it?"