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You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
Deuteronomy 5:32
There is a truth here to guide us in a world with so many places to go, so many turns in the road, and so many pitfalls around us. Don’t go to the left or the right. We all have certain directions our personalities tend to go, certain things that tempt us, loyalties that will bind us. Have you ever noticed, as you lift your hands for a brief moment from the steering wheel of your car, that it will tend to drift one way or the other? It’s the suspension, worn down by potholes and uneven tires. Your heart is the same way. Do not go the left or to the right. Right or left of what? Dear child of God, make it Jesus and Him crucified. There is so much distraction, and our own hearts are slow and “prone to wander.” That’s why we like that song so much, it tells the truth about us. We all tend to wander around, either to the left or the right. The real trick is to see it isn’t really about what’s on the left or on right. That’s not what we must concern ourselves with. Not at first. That’s just your context, wherever you are and wherever you live. What is on the left or right will change with the different places you will live and the circumstances you face. What remains constant is Christ and Him crucified. Set your mind on the cross, where your savior died. Set your heart on the Father’s love for sinners, for us His children. Set your hope on the Prince of Glory, who died that you might live. Make that your “true north,” your ready compass at all times. And don’t stray in your worship, in your heart, or in your choices – be careful with this and you’ll discover something oddly beautiful and strange. You will know what way to go, not because you’re smarter or more spiritual than anyone else. No. You’ll know and turn and live freely, because you walk with the path maker Himself. Praise Him.