"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12)
In the original Hebrew, the phrase, "that seems," is not there. It reads, "There is a way right to a man." In other words, the man does not believe his way seems right. He believes his way is right. What obstinance. Any person who relies on his own senses, upbringing, gender, ethnicity, peer group, or "national origin" for his life style is in great danger of succumbing to deception, ruin, and ultimately the Judgment.
Someone once said, "Good intentions are not a justification for wrongdoing. We must search our ways of life, our opinions, and practices, by the test of the Word of God." I can be wrong. You can be wrong. Everybody can be wrong. And what is the "wrong?" It is anything which contradicts the "Word of Christ." The Bible speaks of "bringing every thought into the obedience of Christ." Notice, it is not just right thoughts, beliefs, right thinking. It is "right" obedience. If our thoughts are shaped by the "Word of Christ," the rest of our life will not be a "seems-right" life. It will be a right life, a life of security, the security of knowing that I can think right, decide right, and live right, because my "rightness" is not my own but the rightness and the righteousness of Jesus Christ, "who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Believe me, Americans, you are going to need this more than ever in the coming year!
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that Your Word will keep me from a "seems right" life. Amen.
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