The fear of the Lord is
the beginning of wisdom.
Proverbs 9:10
My wife has a saying, “God’s way is the best way.” It was her primary parenting technique. And it worked for two reasons: First, she wasn’t a hypocrite. She didn’t have one set of rules for her boys and one “grown up set” for her. She lived what she preached.
Second, she was a flawed human being. (We all are!) But unlike most, she didn’t excuse her imperfection. She apologized for it. When she was wrong, she apologized. When she jumped to conclusions, she apologized. When she was too tough, she apologized. And when her kids came to her, apologetic for their own mistakes, she quickly forgave. The giving and receiving of forgiveness is God’s way … and it’s proved to be the best way!
My favorite way of understanding how to follow God comes with a road-trip image. (Would you have expected anything else?!)
I see life as a journey … and without God, we’re without guard rails. Meaning: We run off the road constantly!
Think about it: That’s our culture! It’s literally all over the place. “If it feels good, do it” is the motto for many people. And if you have no truer compass than self-actualization, then this philosophy makes complete sense.
Now Christians … please do not be judgmental about this! You honestly can’t expect non-Christians to behave like Christians! You can surely weep over the fact that a culture of self-indulgence is turning repeated generations of children into our culture’s pawns. But how will people know about a viable, life-giving, Christ-honoring alternative unless Christians are joyful and consistent ... and not hypocrites? (Hence the example of my wife with our boys!)
What are God’s guard rails.
God’s word is full of wisdom. The book of Proverbs, for example, is full of practical day-to-day advice. When we start following God’s wisdom, the guard rails come in, and we quit driving on the soft shoulder.
God’s law is a guard rail too. You may not understand all of God’s law. You may not agree with all of it. You will chafe against some of it! But it’s there for a reason. And when you follow it, the guard rails come in and you’re no long prone to run on the perilous drop off where asphalt meets mud. (And where safety intersects with your car flipping upside down!)
The words of Jesus himself are a guard rail. If you live and forgive like Jesus, the guard rails come in and you’re suddenly and safely driving down the highway of life!
When you pray, when you serve, when you trust, you’re suddenly in the passing lane! Life starts coming fast and joyful and easy.
And since “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord,” honor God gets you into the HOV lane! You and Father, Son, and Holy Spirit qualify as a High Occupancy Vehicle, and you get to start traveling like no one else!
I’ve watched that in the lives of joyful Christians. They don’t have to spend their lives worrying over what God wants or what they should do. They know it now by heart. Their guard rails are in, and they just live life! It all comes so natural.
Sure, they’ll make mistakes! (Good drivers occasionally crash ... and sometimes horrifically.) But because their guard rails are in, their mistakes are generally smaller. And even when they fail -- even horrifically -- they won’t spend their lives beating themselves up. They’ll humble themselves. They’ll confess their sins. They’ll accept responsibility. They’ll amend their ways. They’ll shift gears. And then they’ll start getting back up to speed quickly! (Wait … notice that last list! If God’s way is the best way, then confessing our sins, accepting responsibility, and amending ways are what shifts the gears!)
There is “one way” to travel (and live) most expeditiously ... and that one way is God’s-way-is-the-best-way!
In Christ’s Love,
a guy who’s been the
wrong way down
a one way street
(I don’t want to look at
the grills of any more
barreling buses ever again.)
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