The reason for this, of course, is that your destination has nothing to do with your intentions, and everything to do with your direction.
It’s a common sense principle we abide by whenever we use a map, but it’s also a principle found in Scripture. Take Proverbs 7 which we reviewed in detail in our last post on Wrights Lane. In this passage, Solomon describes a young man who steps into the house of an adulteress. Because the young man is short-sighted and naive, he sees the encounter as a stroke of luck. After all, the woman’s husband is away—no chance of getting caught—and she has an intoxicating night of love planned for the two of them.
So, the man walks through the door. He goes inside under the false notion that there will be no consequences for his actions. He thinks can have his cake and eat it too.
But Solomon knows better. He knows this man is not exempt from all God’s warnings about sin and folly. This man is not the exception to the rule; he is the rule.
The subject young man believes he is on a path to pleasure and bliss, but he is instead on a path to destruction. Solomon describes it this way: “As an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.” (7:22-23)
The young man’s story is the principle of the path at work. His fate reminds us that we cannot attain abundant life by choosing the path to a destination of no return. The path of sin, of corruption, of laziness, or ethical compromise will only lead one place, because direction determines destination.
I have always remembered the principle of the path, introduced to me in a book by Andy Stanley, because it has countless applications for all of us.
a) First and foremost, direction (not intention) determines our path.
b) You cannot reach spiritual maturity on a path of spiritual neglect.
c) You cannot attain healthy relationships on a path of complacency and unaddressed issues.
Rather than walk a unique path in which the rules do not apply, the young man in Soloman's parable is on a crowded highway. Countless men and women have gone before him, under the exact same illusion. I know that I have been known to fall off the path and have been temporarily misdirected. How about you?
Of course, we all make mistakes. Every one of us. In our faith, marriage, parenting, finances, and leadership, we will make bad choices. And when we do, there is more than enough grace to cover and redeem our brokenness. This is the good news delivered by Jesus Christ.
But the principle of the path should chasten us. It reminds us to be wise and clear-eyed about our daily habits.
The principle of the path means that none of our choices take place in a vacuum. Every single one determines who we are becoming. Every single step is in a particular direction on a particular path, so the question we must ask ourselves every day is this: Where do I want to go, and am I on a path that will take me there?
Someone once said that satisfaction is when you arrive at where you intended to be. I can think of no greater reward in life.
I only wish I had intentionally stumbled onto the path years ago when I could have gone someplace!
No comments:
Post a Comment