Walking the Narrow Path

There are many times in my life I’ve been accused of being narrow minded, stubborn, ornery, ridiculous or impossible to reason with. I’ll admit it…the claims are all somewhat true depending on what the issue at hand is.

My friend Randy Streu of Diminished Media Group and Digital Dragon Magazine fame says he had the same issue when he was in college and often people called him arrogant. I don’t know Randy personally, as in met him in person, so I can’t say for sure if that is true or not. I will say the persona he presents to the online world is nothing close to arrogant. I would go as far as to say he is solid and sure in his footing.

I am very flexible on trivial things and I do not have to be right all the time. I have no problem admitting when I am wrong and learning from that experience. Shoot, I am wrong more than I am right. It comes with the territory of humanity. We just aren’t all that bright. If you take offense at that, I don’t give a flying-flip. You’re in denial and I will hope for it to pass soon and real learning can get under way.

But when it comes to matters of principle and morality I bore down hard with my stance, curl my toes into the soil (hoping they snag a root) and push back when someone tries to budge me. Some things just can’t be compromised. Some things should never have a grey area.

This has often caused me to lose “friends” and made people distance themselves from me. People have called me crazy, obnoxious, a liar alongside the other names and a few more that aren’t nice to write or say. But didn’t Jesus tell us this is how it would be for us?

So when I reflect upon it, I am not hindered or halted in my belief that God’s way is the right way.  We live in a grey world. One in which principle and morality are as flexible as a Slinky.

“Can’t we all just get along?”

Not hardly. Why? Because sin has corrupted us and as long as there is sin, there will be fighting, hatred and name calling. I always laugh when I see someone else trying to force everyone to behave…as if they are mere children, unable to decide for themselves. But force by man upon man is at the very root of sin. It is putting yourself in God’s shoes to make Creation abide you. You know, Lucifer had that problem…trying to rate as high or higher than God. We all know how that turned out.

At the end of the day: We can only make choices for ourselves. We can only stand or not stand for ourselves. We can only walk the broad path or the narrow path for ourselves.

But know this, my friends, God is watching. And if you do choose that perilous narrow path, if you do choose to stand on His foundation and dig in when Slinky-ville comes calling for new residents, it will be difficult. The world will hate you and call you liar. You will fall and scratch your knees and elbows. You will come to many rises and dips and you will feel weary and strained. But when you reach the end of the path, He will be waiting for you and you will have rest. And when you look back over the life you lived, you will see Him there beside you, holding you up when you should have feasibly fallen.

Matthew:13-14 (KJV)

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Peace, love and God’s will.