Proverbs 4:20-27
Dear friend, listen well to my words;
tune your ears to my voice.
Keep my message in plain view at all times.
Concentrate! Learn it by heart!
Those who discover these words live, really live;
body and soul, they’re bursting with health.
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.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
As I write this devotional, Greg is busy mowing our yard. His head is down, and he is focused straight ahead as he makes sure that each row neatly lines up next to the one before it - with no gaps. Were he to look to the left or right and allow his focus to wander, there is no telling what "pattern" we might end up with in our yard! Like a lot of things in life, this is a task that requires one to "keep it between the lines" and to "ignore all sideshow distractions."
How does this have relevance for us? Think about your life as if you were mowing a lawn. You have a task at hand...school, work, caring for your family, staying healthy, eating, sleeping, maintaining relationships...and yes, working on your Christian discipleship through prayer, Bible study, discipleships, and fellowship/worship with other believers. As long as you "push the mower" in a straight line and stay focused, everything goes well.
Then a "distraction" comes along. "Life" throws you a curve ball. Someone asks you to do something you don't want to do - or can't - and rather than tell them "No," you dodge and weave and say, "Let me think about it and get back to you." You've just looked to the left and gotten off track. Or someone says, "Hey, did you hear about So-and-so?" and you drop what you are doing to hear all of the juicy tidbits. You just veered to the right...and there goes another "jog" in your neatly trimmed "yard"!
Someone makes you doubt yourself - or your faith - and you stop in your tracks...frozen...unable to move in any direction. Your friends or family members express viewpoints with which you do not agree...or speak against someone or a particular group. You are uncomfortable and feel God telling you that this is not right...but you don't want to embarrass anyone - especially yourself - so you say nothing...or nod in silent agreement. Either way, you have veered off the course that God set for your life...and you probably don't fell all that great deep within your heart because of it.
This passage is a reminder for us to examine our hearts...and to spend some time talking with God. It's a wake-up call to have something of a "review" or "tune-up" to see where we have gotten off course...and where God is calling us to get back into His "lane"!
When Greg gets done mowing our yard, it looks like a beautiful, smooth green carpet. I'm afraid that the "carpet" of our lives often has quite a few frays and snags that stick up or out and mar the landscape. But we can change this. We can ask God to help us get back on track, and to stay there. God can help us keep vigilant watch over our hearts...and to avoid the distractions that pull us to one side or the other. And in doing so, we can really live...healthy, happy, and bursting with confidence that He is guiding our steps.
Who is really steering your life these days? It's a question we all need to ask ourselves. Getting to the right answer may take some work and attention, but it will be so worth the effort. Are you ready to start paying closer attention? Will this be the day that you begin?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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