Conflicting messages

 Psalm 39: Sounds like David is getting near the end. He's asking God to give him peace," before I depart and am no more ".

Jeremiah 11:1-13: God says Israel & Judah have broken the covenant and are serving false gods especially Baal. ......here I vote for the people. Back in the Torah, there are a plethora of laws given, that no one could follow that would make anyone irritable. When all God wants is people to be nice to each other. And as for the idols, maybe it's because worship and sacrifice is reserved for the Temple. And most people can't afford to go there or have the time. So maybe they just want to set up a prayer space in their home. And maybe they aren't really in to foreign gods, maybe it's more like praying to a saint or Mary, because God seems so big and distant.

Romans 2:1-11: Paul says don't judge others for what you are doing yourself. But then he says God will repay according to one's deeds. And those who do good will get eternal life. But other places in the Bible, it says no one can be good enough, that you are saved by faith. ..... So like in the above Jeremiah passage, sometimes it seems like religion is just a cultural control mechanism. And I think a lot of people feel that , well, I'm just going to try to be nice and have my own private prayer space. Which is what Jesus said at one point, don't pray or do good deeds so everyone knows it.