Right Paths Require Right Directions

Accept correction, and you will find life; reject correction, and you will miss the road. You can hide your hatred by telling lies, but you are a fool to spread lies. You will say the wrong thing if you talk too much—so be sensible and watch what you say. The words of a good person are like pure silver, but the thoughts of an evil person are almost worthless. Many are helped by useful instruction, but fools are killed by their own stupidity. (Proverbs 10:17-21 CEV)

When we are correcting something, there is a substitution for what is wrong or inaccurate. We are making an adjustment in order to increase accuracy or reverse a trend in a particular action. We could also think of correction as the punishment we receive which is intended to put us back on the right course. The idea is that of "substituting" one behavior for another in order to get a different outcome is the most accurate definition. If we continue doing the same thing, we will always get what we have always gotten! So, correction is designed to help us do something "differently" in order to change the outcome.

We think we can fix ourselves, but we got into the mess because we had blinders on, causing us to only see what we wanted to see; or we were so "open minded" we forgot to really think through what we were doing in the first place. We need to have the blinders removed - so we sometimes need someone on the "outside" of the mess we are in to actually help us see where the blinders have limited our focus. We also need someone to clearly delineate the path for us to follow, because the one we have been choosing is just riddled with messiness!

Fools are tripped up by THEIR OWN stupidity - not the stupidity of others! We sometimes think we can put the blame for our missteps on others, but truth be told, we took those steps on our own! When "useful instruction" comes our way, it takes quite a brave man or woman to actually embrace it and turn away from the folly of our ways. Bravery is the willingness to challenge the norm - to dare to be different from what we have always been. Bravery stands up to the wrong we have created in our minds and dares to think differently. Most of our missteps in life are simply because we have embraced some type of "errant' belief. In turn, we act upon that errant thought pattern, and we find ourselves "missing the road" we should actually have traveled!

Sometimes we just choose the wrong way - either because of our own lack of investigation into the pathway we are traveling, or because we have given into some form of peer pressure and just idly go that way. When I am lost on the roadways on some journey I am on, I don't just drive round and round. I pull over, look again at the map, and then ask directions. What I am doing is referencing "truth" (the map) and getting counsel (asking for directions). We all need to stop on occasion to be sure our actions are in alignment with the Word of God and to check our steps with others who are in intimate relationship with Jesus. In turn, we often will save ourselves many a misstep!

So, learning to "tune in" a little more to our thoughts, allowing the Holy Spirit to "right" them when they are getting a little too "free form" will save us a whole lot of idle wandering down roads best left untraveled in the first place! Just sayin!

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