"There is a way . . . "

Grenada is an island 21 miles long and 12 miles wide—not very big as countries go, but a typical island in the Eastern Caribbean. There are only a few main roads, with reasonable signs—there are those junctions or roundabouts where there is nothing, but generally speaking you can figure it.

David and I set out this morning to a certain place. We got on a road we’ve traveled one other time, so that part was easy. From our previous experience on this same road we’d learned that the map was only a guide—what it showed as a “main road” might look like a street, be closer (or farther) than it appeared, and might have no sign at all. So when we got to Grenville we headed north and quickly came to a roundabout. Two of the roads were obviously not the one we wanted, but that left two other choices. One of them led in the direction we wanted to go, so we took it. Within a couple of miles it brought us back to the road we had been on earlier. Now we could have asked directions—there were plenty of people liming (relaxing) on the side of the road, but we had time. So we went back to the first roundabout and took the 4th road. In a mile or so we reached another intersection and before all was said and done we traveled on all 3 of them, only to circle around (one a 5 or 6 mile circle) to some point on our original road. On several of these false paths we felt fairly confident because they seemed to be going in the direction we were seeking. After about an hour or this, we retraced our steps on one of the first roads we’d taken, made a left (away from our destination) instead of a right and very quickly reached our destination.

As I was reflecting on our journey, I remembered the passage in Proverbs (14:12 & 16:25), “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” There were a number of roads that seemed right, but weren’t in our search today. Interestingly enough, those that felt “wrong” usually turned out to be right. Although they didn’t lead where we wanted to go, they didn’t lead to death, or even damage.

But such is not true of false doctrine or moral decisions. To borrow a phrase from an old song, “It feels so right, it can’t be wrong” is used to justify things from fornication to alcoholism, but this way “that seems right” leads to death. Emotional pleas against plain Bible statements fall into the same category: “I don’t believe God would send someone to hell for such a little thing.” “I don’t see anything wrong with it”.

The only sure path is the one God has commanded—I may not understand why, but the fact that God has said it should be enough. We may later understand why or in this life we may never understand why, but the fact remains “there is a way that seems right unto a man, but its end is the way of death.”

Tol