“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Proverbs 14:12 (KJV)
Most Christians set out in their new life full of hope and zeal for what lies ahead. But, soon, they realize that trials are not removed. Difficulties still are present. Tires still pick up nails and get flat. A/Cs still stop working in the middle of triple-digit heat waves. Children still get sick. Jobs are still lost. Relationships are still fractured. Anger still rears its head. Sufferings from the consequences of sins long ago repented of remain fresh.
In the middle of this disillusionment in life, the Christian has a choice:
- Will I choose the right way or the wrong way?
- Will I walk in moral courage, or will I fudge, cheat, lie, smear, slander, excuse, tolerate, abide, or rollover?
- Will I align my thoughts and behavior to God’s Word, or will I align it to my emotions, what my friends say, what I think I want my friends to say, what the world says, or what I wish for the world to say about me?
The ancient Israelite people chose the latter path and “did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers” (Judges 2:17).
Years later, their hearts were still rebellious, and they “did not repent of their ways” (Jeremiah 15:7b). They were also judged until all of God’s people finally suffered the humiliation of exile from their land and the devastation of national systemic oppression.
It is a sad story that begins with one profoundly ominous phrase, “…there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10b).
It took one generation to arise without knowing God to turn aside from God’s way. One generation.
How Does This Apply To Us Today?
- Acknowledge that you–like the Israelites of old–chose paths whose “end thereof are the ways of death” and that you are subject to the same judgment they endured–separation from God.
- Your only hope is to turn to Christ–who was judged on your behalf–in faith for the forgiveness of your deviance and receive His gift of grace and subsequent eternal life.
- Recognize your ongoing propensity to choose paths whose “end thereof are the ways of death.”
- Your only hope is continually turning to Christ in faith to forgive and restore you to Him and those impacted by your choices.
- Use your experience, insight, and biblical wisdom to pour into the “next generation.”
- Your Christian responsibility is to–like the apostle Paul to Timothy–take “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2)
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