Read:  Proverbs 4:18-27

One of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis showed up this week on Twitter.  It reminded me of our AMC theme for 2020, our service this past Sunday, some verses from Proverbs, and a song by Amy Grant from many years past.  The quote goes like this, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” What a promising word for those who have things in their past that they would like to forget and move past.  Most likely that would include all of us.

In Proverbs 4 Solomon is writing to his son about life, obedience, guarding his heart, looking ahead, and staying far from evil.  I like the way The Message Bible paraphrases verses 23-27, it says, “Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.  Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.  Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you.  Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust.” Those are great words for us to hear as we live in this world full of political banter, loose morals, and other evils.

In 1984, when I was a Sophomore in High School, Amy Grant released a song that must have been straight from Proverbs 4:25.  The words to the song sound like her own paraphrase of these verses. The chorus said, “Straight ahead, I can see your light, Straight ahead, through the dark, Straight ahead, there’s no left or right, Straight ahead, to your heart.”  Whether it is Solomon, C.S. Lewis, or Amy Grant, the message for us seems very clear.

Make it Personal:  What things are causing your eyes to wander?  Is it politics? Is it the moral decay in our culture?  Is it taking steps in the wrong direction? Ask God to help you stay on the straight and narrow way in your Christian life.  The words of Jesus also make it very clear for us in Matthew 7:13-14. “Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”