It has been said that life is a journey, not a destination. Personally, I think that’s rubbish. Only homeless people are on a journey without a destination. The rest of us want to go somewhere by means of the most scenic route. Life is a journey, in other words, precisely because it has a destination. The important question is how we get there.
Proverbs 4:10-19 outlines “the path of the righteous,” that is, the only route to the desired destination. It has four characteristics. First, it is the path of tradition.
Listen, my son, accept what I say,
and the years of your life will be many.
I guide you in the way of wisdom
and lead you along straight paths.
Biblical faith is tried and true; if it was good enough to save your father, it is good enough to save you.
Second, it is the safe path, the path of life.
When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
when you run, you will not stumble.
Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life.
This proverb does not mean that believers experience no difficulties in life. Rather, it means that no difficulties in life are insurmountable, that none of them can keep you from arriving safely at the destination, which is the good life. In the Old Testament, the good life was often identified with length of years here on earth. In the New Testament, length of years stretches all the way into eternity.
Third, it is the path of deliberate holiness.
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
or walk in the way of evil men.
Avoid it, do not travel on it;
turn from it and go on your way.
For they cannot sleep till they do evil;
they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.
They eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
This path is deliberate because it must be chosen. Notice the words do not and turn. Life presents us with a choice between the path toward God or away from him. It is not a given that we will choose the right path. In response to God’s grace, we must say “No!” to sin. We must repent of it. (In Hebrew, same word is translated as both turn and repent.) A failure to repent of sin leads to an increasing reliance on it as a staple of your life, that is, as your food and drink.
Finally, it is the path of insight.
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble.
When you live wisely, you understand better how to live well. But when you live foolishly, your life becomes harder and you don’t even understand why. Make sure to live wisely!
GeorgePWood.com 