Edging Off The Path

Edging off the Path

Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t follow the path of evildoers. Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way. Turn away and keep moving. Proverbs 4:14-15

Turn away and keep moving.

Sometimes we act as if it’s the large things that trip us up—as if we merely need to avoid big pitfalls. But it’s actually the small things that so often make us stumble. Joe Marciano, an assistant coach for me in Tampa, had a saying that always resonated with our team: “Death by inches.” When a team is winning, coaches have a tendency to let little details slide by because things are going well. Then suddenly we’re in a losing streak and can’t figure out why. It’s because those small, infrequent mistakes that didn’t get corrected have become the norm, and the team can’t get that sharpness back.

Death by inches.

It can happen in life as well. We know that the life God calls us to is straight ahead, that making a ninety-degree detour is clearly off track. But that’s not how we get off track. We get off track when we take a five-degree turn off the straight path. Suddenly we’re just a little bit sidetracked from where Christ wants us to go, not living as Christ wants us to live.

We know the rules to keep ourselves out of trouble. But it’s the gray areas, the things that “aren’t that big of a deal,” that cause problems. First there’s one compromise. Then something else. Before we know it, we’re so far off course, we can’t imagine how we got there. Of course, looking back, we can trace the path: one small step at a time.

How do we keep from getting off track? How do we fend off temptation that is lurking nearby, trying to pull us off the path God wants us to travel? Martin Luther warned that temptation was like hovering birds, and we should never let them begin to build a nest in our hair. Pastor Greg Laurie has fought temptation by envisioning Christ answering the door for him whenever temptation was knocking. That visual image helped him to turn away and to keep moving where God wanted him to go.

You need to do the same. Turn away and keep moving.

Uncommon Key > You know where God wants you to go. You know the life He wants you to live. Be aware and wary of the small things that can lead you off track.