Walking Straight

Amos 5:10  How you hate honest judges! How you despise people who tell the truth!

Studies have shown that if you blindfold a man and ask him to walk in a straight line, he will start out well but will soon begin to turn one way or another, looping around in ever tightening circles. It is a phenomenon that has been demonstrated over and over again: without a fixed reference point we cannot keep a straight line.

The strange thing is that it feels like we're walking in a straight line. But we begin to loop and curve erratically – without ever knowing it. We need a fixed point to walk a straight line.

Robert Kulwich, for NPR, observes, "Without a corrective, our insides take over and there's something inside us that won't stay straight."

That’s what the Bible is for: it is the fixed point to help us walk straight. Let’s be honest, that isn’t always popular! God’s Word has a lot of truth that I would just as soon not be in there! I like the idea of heaven, but the thought of loving my enemies is not something I want to do. Still, I must love them.

I love being forgiven, but there are times when forgiving someone else sticks in my craw. Still, I must forgive.

President James A Garfield said, “The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.” I will choose truth and freedom with a little discomfort over a comforting lie any day.

Today’s Readings: Amos 4-6; Psalm 86,87; Titus 1

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