Related articles - Where are we going?
In Homer’s series of books of Greek mythology, he recounts the story of Odysseus, a leader of Greek forces during the Trojan war. He was a cunning, but wily and evil man. This Homeric epic of twenty-four volumes tells of Odysseus’ ten years of wanderings, and his adventures along his journey from Troy to Ithaca.
Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan, is a similar type of story, but of a man, named Christian, who journeyed from the City of Destruction to the Heavenly City. Both Odysseus and Christian made thousands of choices along the way -- but their choices were determined by their inner character. Odysseus’ inner world was self promoting and Christian’s was humble. We can learn life lessons from each of their stories.
Like these two mythological characters, each of us are on a journey from birth to death, called by Solomon, the path of life. The Bible also refers to the journey as the path of righteousness; the way; or walking in the light. Along the path that each of us are travelling are thousands of choices. Some are between evil and good, while others are between good and better.
The process that the author of Proverbs describes to us involves three steps: to listen, choose, and trust. First comes listening. Before making your choice of which path to follow, listen to wise counsel of your family and friends, and listen for the voice of your shepherd. Last week I quoted Solomon when he wrote, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do and he will direct your paths.
But while you are listening, remember that there is another voice which will try to entice you off the right path and obscure your life purpose. I can’t shake the thought of an article I read this year from the New York Times about a young girl who ordered a chicken taco at Taco Bell and ate it on the way to her home. That night she noticed that her jaw was a bit tight and swollen, and the next morning it was worse. So she went to the doctor. Thinking that it was an allergic reaction, he gave her some cream to rub on her jaw. Back at the doctor’s office again in a couple of days, because she could hardly move her jaw, he took a saliva sample.
Apparently, the results showed, that the chicken taco she’d eaten, had had a pregnant cockroach in it. Her saliva glands were incubating the eggs and they were hatching inside of her jaw! The picture is gross, but it illustrates to me how that an innocuous, wrong choice can lead to greater devastation down the road. A wrong path begins with a very subtle, but unhealthy choice. So listen carefully before making your choice of pathways.
Then, after we’ve chosen the right path, simply trust your shepherd. His promise is that if we follow his counsel, he will help us make right decisions. Listen first, choose second and trust third.
