By Allen White
Ever taken a short cut? One day I was
driving back from having my lawn mower repaired. The mower was sticking out of
the trunk of my car with the trunk lid tied down the best I could. I may very
well be the only man in the South without a truck.
I didn’t want to take the highway, so I
took a smaller street that would get me and the mower home safely. As I drove, traffic became slower
and slower until it came to a crawl. I looked over at the highway and thought
it might have been a better choice. Then, I found a shortcut on my GPS.
A great side street moved all of the
way off of the map. I had found a winner and would no longer be stuck behind
all of the mess.
I made a right turn and drove for
several miles only to discover what the GPS failed to show me. The street was a
dead end. As I made a uturn and headed back to the surface street and the
traffic jam, I realized my shortcut was not short. My trip actually grew
longer. Now, I was stuck behind more cars than ever. I had been deceived.
Evil seems like a shortcut. Lucifer, the most
beautiful archangel in Heaven, decided to compete with God rather than bask in
God’s glory. The pride in his heart made him God’s enemy and ours. Now, the
deception continues.
As we are tempted by evil, sometimes we
eye the shortcuts in life. This proverb tell us the hearts of people set on
evil are filed with deceit. Deceit is not just a weapon against others. Deceit
is self-destructive. People who do evil are not just deceivers, but are also
deceived.
Whatever they think will bring them
happiness brings them far less. The contrast to deceit in this passage is
peace. Rather than manipulating someone to follow your way, folks who promote
peace achieve unity which results in joy.
Most of us wouldn’t categorize
ourselves in the ranks of Satan. That’s a bit extreme. We’re not evil. We’re
not anti-God. We just want things our way – which happens to be anti-God and
thus evil. Oops.
Promoting peace doesn't mean passively
smoothing things over and ignoring others' bad behavior. It also doesn’t mean
never getting our way.
Here’s a simple truth: you and I are
not the Holy Spirit. We do not need to talk about others' faults and failures. We
don’t need to tattle on them like little children. Their deeds will be found
out soon enough. We don’t even have to say a word to another person. But, we
should direct all of our words to God.
We should tell God our fears over a
situation. We should report to God the misdeeds of others. We should ask God to
make things right. Then, we should ask God to give us His peace that passes all
understanding.
One of my favorite passages from Scripture
says this, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of
God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus” (Phiiippians 4:6-7). Practicing this verse will lead to peace
and joy.
More from Allen
White: allenwhite.org
Facebook: Galatians419 Group
Twitter: @galatians419 @allenwhite
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