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Dead End

I knew it didn't look quite right. On my side of the highway were cars going one way, on the other side cars going the other way- but in between was a vehicle that was jammed between the median walls. It honestly looked like a hot dog with windows squeezed tightly inside a bun of concrete. It took me a few minutes, but I eventually figured out what had happened. The driver was in the left hand lane, and at some point he got very impatient and passed other cars in a new left lane that suddenly became available. The problem is that this new path led directly into a construction site where they were putting up two median walls. The long and short of it is that this genius must have been looking to the right as he passed some cars, all the while not seeing the warning signs until it was too late- then the car screeched to a sparky smoky stop as the walls became increasingly narrow.

Can you imagine how embarrassed this person must have been as he squeezed himself out of the window? I wonder what citation he received from the police? Probably a D.U.I.S. (Driving Under the Influence of Stupidity).

Given a second chance, I'm fairly sure he would have decided to be a little more patient with his circumstances and not take what looked to be the easy way.

It seems to me that there are a lot of people in the world who live their lives a lot like the man in the story mentioned above. As a matter of fact, the Bible actually talks about these folks:

Lives of careless wrongdoing are tumbledown shacks; holy living builds soaring cathedrals. There's a way of life that looks harmless enough; look again--it leads straight to hell. Sure, those people appear to be having a good time, but all that laughter will end in heartbreak. (Proverbs 14:11-13)

These words were penned by the wisest person who ever lived-King Solomon...but don't think for a second that all his wisdom kept him out of trouble. In fact, Solomon's lifestyle would probably make Eminem blush, and his wealth would make Bill Gates look poor. The "vehicle" he was driving was money, power, and fame; unfortunately in the end he wrecked it between the unmovable walls of God's love and justice.

So I guess he qualifies as someone who has been there and done that- and his advice is "watch the road of your life carefully- and make sure you're on the right path". The mistake he made is the same one that we often make: not keeping our eyes on the road and our hands on the wheel!

Think about it- do you believe most people would continue to do some of the things they do if they knew what the consequences could be? Of course not- but they aren't keeping their eyes on the road. They think that just because there are no immediate penalties to their persnickety debauchery, there never will be. Wrong! If you just took a few minutes and looked where you are headed, you'd see clearly that your road is a dead-end...in some cases a literal "dead" end!

Take some advice from Solomon- when it comes to your life's roadmap; do not let your heart rule your head. If you go by what 'feels' right rather than what God's Word proclaims, you will very soon be caught between the Rock of Ages and the hard place of sin.

Questions:

  1. What 'road' seems right to me, but will probably end up in a dead end?
  2. How often do I make decisions by emotion?
  3. Do I have friends or family who can help me make wise decisions? Am I willing to listen?

Memory Verse:

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (I Peter 5:8)