Follow your own path

We are living in a country in which no matter what side of the aisle you believe in, you’re liable to be deeply disappointed come November when the vote is held nationally. What then? What do we do then?
Look at it this way: Republican Sen. Ted Cruz just fired someone for their work on making it appear Republican Sen. Marco Rubio denounced the Bible. Who looks the worst from this incident? Yeah, Sen. Ted Cruz. It is not the one who points out what appears to be the wrong path that falls, but instead it is the one who takes the wrong path. Seems easy enough. Right?
The Bible talks about ideas like that, sort of. “There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death” — Proverbs 14:22. Well, is it that obvious? Is it that easy to pick the right path? If so, why then do we take the wrong path so often?
In the classic children’s book “Alice in Wonderland,” Alice comes to a junction in the road that leads off in different directions and seeing the Cheshire Cat she asks him for advice:
“Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the cat.
“I don’t much care where,” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
It seems to me this dark morning that if you don’t want to go anyplace in particular any road will do.
When it comes to religion, many people will tell you that any old road will get you to God. In fact, there is a Hindu saying that goes this way:
“There are Hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading in the same direction, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only one wasting time is the one who runs around and around the mountain, telling everyone else that his or her path is wrong”
In other words, the Hindus believe — it doesn’t matter which path you take as long as your path doesn’t involve telling others they’re wrong.
Of course, in American politics, heck in American living, what path you takes means all the world because you — of course — have the right way tucked under your wing and only you can show others that right way. You, and I, then take great pleasure in telling the other person that they are wrong. They have selected the wrong way. They have gone down the wrong path.
Some of us take the sentence, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” and bludgeon folks with it. Some of us take the sentence, “I am the only way to the Father,” and not only pick fights with it but use it to absolutely rule the day.
By contrast the Bible has always maintained that this mindset was wrongheaded and foolish. Repeatedly, Solomon tells his sons in Proverbs: “There is a way that seems right unto a man…” And what’s end result of that? Death. In other words, there is a way that sure looks good, but that way winds up killing us.
I read a story this week about a man whose bathtub was filthy. Apparently he was having little luck getting it clean with normal bathroom cleansers, but he had heard that gasoline was a solvent. So he took a rag with gasoline to the tub… and it worked! Well… it mostly worked, but it stank up the bathroom something fierce. So, he decided he needed to do something to take care of the odor. You’ll never guess what he did … he set out aromatic candles and he lit them. He survived … but his apartment didn’t.
That was one of those “seemed like a good idea at the time” ideas that we all get from time to time.
My point is this: It is far better that we seek the right path and then follow it than it is to tell others how and why their path is the wrong one. If you don’t care which path you’re taking, then it doesn’t much matter which way you go. But if you care, perhaps even care deeply, then you need to seek Him where He can be found.
Billy Turner is a pastor of the United Methodist denomination and a retired journalist.