Rezzum ad tafem

This is a series of 27 DBS studies in Tarifit based on the Word of God, Lkitab n Arebbi in the Rif Berber language.

Our website abridnarrif contains the words abrid meaning 'way', n meaning 'of', and arrif or rif which is the area of North Morocco where the Rif Berber people live. So abridnarrif means the Way of the Rif.

What is the way of the Rif and of the Rif Berber people? It is to have good choices for their lives, and to use every opportunity to make the best choices. Good choice are like rabbits; they multiply quickly. For the Riffi people, making good choices will lead to opportunities to make more good choices.

The opposite is also true. If a man or woman from the Rif, whether they are from Melilla, Nador, Al Hoceima, Berkane, Ras al Ma, Tamsamen, Imzouren, Dar Driuch or any other village, if they make wrong choices, then as a result they will find they have fewer good choices left.

Good choices open opportunities for more good choices and bad choices leave us with only bad choices to choose from. Among other things, bad choices lead to poverty; in fact poverty is the state of having few or no good choices left. Poverty is the result of bad choices, either our own bad choices or the bad choices of those around us. And bad choices are almost always choices that are made with the immediate present in mind without reference to the future or to the consequences of the choice.

But how do we know if a choice is good or bad? The best place to learn about good choices for life is from the creator of life, the Lord God. The Word of God gives us clear teaching regarding what is right and what is wrong. What is right is called righteousness and what is wrong is called sin. In the Book of God we read about the lives of the prophets including, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Jesus.

We know what is right or wrong by following the very basic law of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Law of Love, sometimes called the Golden Rule. It says: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Another way Jesus said it is: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The words of our Lord Jesus Christ bring life, health, strength, joy, and peace.

In addition to reading the Book of God, the Bible, the Jesus film is a good way to learn the story of the life of Jesus the Messiah as revealed in the Word of God in the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

By far the most important thing when we talk about choices, about right and wrong, is the question of eternity. Heaven is real, hell is real, and though our life on this earth may seem long, compared to eternity, life on earth is like a single breath.

Why is it important to think about eternity when making choices? Because bad choices are almost always choices that benefit the present but make your future worse. And since God knows the future, a good choice is always a choice that God says is good and a bad choice is always a choice that God says is bad. A good choice is right or righteous and a bad choice is wrong or sinful. The choices God tells us to make are choices that are the best for our future, for eternity.

But a person who decides to follow God and to do what is right may find that his good choice results in bad things happening to him in this life. For example, God says that we must not lie. He also says that a person who wants to follow the way of Jesus must confess his faith in Jesus to others.

Now a person living in a Muslim country where society and the laws of the land require adherence to Islam will find persecution and punishment if he confesses his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is where we must have faith in God. Faith believes that God wins in the end. God says that those who are persecuted because of their faith in Jesus are blessed by God.

Love wins.