Life’s Landmarks

Life’s Landmarks

Hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother. Proverbs 1:8, NKJV

Life is full of opportunities to take the easy way. I found that to be true pretty quickly when I left home to attend the University of Minnesota, and the temptations only increased after college. Doing the right thing seemed to involve many shades of gray—good reasons like convenience and saving time—so finding shortcuts always looked appealing. My mother’s words—“It’s sometimes easier to do the wrong thing, but it’s always better to do the right thing”—came to mind more often than I could count. They applied to more situations than I imagined.

So much of what seems convenient and expedient at any given moment is really a distraction. Temptations to take the easy way will throw us off track and send us on the wrong direction in our lives. They are detours from the landmarks that should guide us. Even though we live in a world that considers values to be fluid, subject to change with circumstances or popular opinion, we know we can count on certain absolutes. We all have a sense of right and wrong. Some of us have a lot of practice ignoring that sense, but it’s there. And we need to do whatever we can to rely on the landmarks.

Where do your landmarks come from? If you had good parents who instilled values in you, like I did, you have a great foundation. If not, you still know people of integrity who can serve as examples for you. In either case, we all have access to God’s Word, which is the basis for the absolutes we believe and the values we are to live by. These absolutes and values don’t change. They aren’t a matter of popular opinion. They don’t apply to some situations and not to others. They aren’t negotiable. We can always count on them to keep us headed in the right direction—even when a more expedient or convenient shortcut tempts us.

The landmarks we should use to find our footing and direction will always be the same. The fundamentals don’t change. And my mother’s words will always be relevant: “It’s sometimes easier to do the wrong thing, but it’s always better to do the right thing.”

Uncommon Key > Know your values and don’t depart from them. Choose “right” over “easy” whenever life offers you a shortcut.