Two Paths of Life

Proverbs 4:14-27

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.

16 For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.

18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.

20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.

23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.

24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.

26 Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.

Wisdom sees that there are two paths in life to journey down, a straight and narrow and a wide wandering way (Matthew 7:13-14).  We are well advised not to go the wide way of the wicked whose ways and byways are evil in opposition to the word of the Lord whose wisdom is the guidepost pointing to the narrow and less traveled way.  When we see these signs posts, it is wisdom which give the understanding to pass these alleyways by and not to enter into them.  Those wandering on the path of only look for evil things to occupy their jagged journey with.  They even lose sleep if they have not dragged someone else with them down that path to destruction (Matthew 23:15, Romans 3:15-18), and their food is bread of wickedness and wine of violence instead of the good bread of the body of Christ broken to atone for sin and His blood as wine to cleanse from sin’s penalty.  Those pursuing holiness on the right narrow way find brighter light to guide along the way, but those stumbling in the darkness are running headlong into the unseen abyss because there is no guiding light in that direction.  Solomon wrote these words of wisdom to let it be God’s way according to His word, and not the doctrines of deceptive demons.  He begs the listeners to pay focused attention to these words of wisdom for the LORD which he wrote for us all, to keep them in both mind and heart; in our minds to consider the consequences and rewards, and in our hearts to know God’s love and stir up our own in loving and willing obedience.  These words of wisdom and understanding are spiritual health and life to those with ears to hear.  We are especially to exercise diligent discipline and exercise ourselves to godliness to keeping our hearts pure, for from the heart come all things out of us, good and bad alike (Matthew 12:35, 15:18-19).  This is wisdom putting understanding into action.  We then must stop deceitfulness and perverseness in our speech and instead keep our eyes on the heavenly prize (1 Corinthians 9:24, Philippians 3:12-14), looking straight ahead down to the end of the narrow path as much as that under our next step right before us.  Yes, we should consider well the path we put our feet on and consider where we are heading to keep us on the straight and narrow.  By exercising such wisdom we will find our steps established by God.  We therefore aim to remove our footsteps from evil and not turn off to the right or left by God’s word and Spirit helping us along life’s narrow way as Isaiah 30:21 encourages us to rely on God’s guidance.  How do we live right, walking in light through the darkness surrounding us?  We begin by not living as those in the dark.  Do not do what they do, or even go (travel the same path) where they go.  They live to make those seeking God's way fall, even losing sleep over not making you sin as they do.  They are so lost in darkness that they cannot see what they are tripping over.   But we who know Christ have opened eyes and see clearly in the light.  How difficult to guard our hearts, lips, and eyes, yet so crucial as we consider how we walk.  The way straight ahead for our feet is the goal, pleasing the Lord and loving others.  Let us take our feet from evil and run the race, forgetting what is behind as we press to that goal as Paul said in Philippians.  As Jesus said, everything comes from inside, from the heart.  This is why it must be guarded at all times.  Part of this is focusing on becoming like Christ as we trust and obey, and part is in avoiding saying or doing evil.  We need to consider how we live, the direction we live in, and keep to the narrow path in following Jesus Christ. There are two paths.  Which will we follow?