GPS precision, or broad perspective of the paper map?

A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one.  You can identify fools just by the way they walk down the street! 

(Ecclesiastes 10:2-3 NLT)

It was Voltaire who said, "The mouth obeys poorly when the heart murmurs." Chew on that one just a bit. What got Israel into all that trouble during those years they were wandering around in the wilderness between their deliverance from Egypt and their entrance into the Promised Land? Wasn't there a whole lot of murmuring going on? Isn't that just about the truth each time we think about how much trouble we can find ourselves in on occasion? We start to listen to the murmuring in our heart and before long we find ourselves "speaking out loud" what is in our hearts and that leads us down paths we might not want to have traveled at all!

The choice of the "right road" isn't a spur of the moment kind of decision. In fact, to choose wisely, one needs to "plan" the journey a little. I like to travel with by BFF and we now rely a great deal upon our GPS unit in the vehicle. It is there, so we use it to our benefit, navigating with ease in areas where we don't know our way around. We simply put in the destination we choose to explore and off we go with step-by-step guided directions. I even have this app on my smartphone to assist me if I am walking somewhere and need to discover the location of something I am interested in, such as the closest coffee shop. The right "tool" makes the job easier, doesn't it?

The tools we are given to assist us in choosing the "right road" in our daily walk with Jesus are simple: The Word of God, the Holy Spirit within, and the confirmation of our conscience because God even gives us common sense to help guide us. The excuse that we didn't know is just no excuse at all. The ability to "know" something and choose wisely based upon the knowledge we have is readily available to us - we just don't always rely upon the tools we have been given. As good as my GPS unit is in the car or on my phone, there is something missing - it doesn't give me a very "broad picture". There is something to be said about unfolding one of those old fashion things called "maps"! When I do, I get a glimpse of the general geographic area, but within the inset of the map, I get a perspective of where I am going in a little more detail.

It is almost that way with the Word of God - open it, study the detail there, but remember there is a whole lot more to the "map" than just that one "inset" you are studying! Sometimes we make the best decisions in life's journey because we get a bigger perspective by taking in a little more of the truth set before us! Just sayin!