“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (14:12). The easiest thing to do in life is just live on autopilot; doing things without questioning why we do them and pursuing goals without questioning the validity of these goals. We do what seems right, but often what seems right is something quite divergent from God’s will for us. We can find ourselves being enslaved to onerous expectations that are imposed upon us by our culture, our upbringing or our peer group. It may be that we are living in response to a fear of failure or rejection and we are working hard to avoid being that person that we don’t want to be. When we live like this, life becomes onerous and exhausting. God’s will for us is perfectly suited to who we are, so living out his will is as natural as flying is to a bird. He has made a path for us; we don’t have to make it for ourselves. All we need to do is walk in the path that he has already laid out for us. Today I encourage you to walk in that path. Push aside every other obligation other than that of loving God and your neighbour and walking in God’s way. This is the only way to live in peace and joy. Fulfilling all those other obligations may give you an immediate sense of satisfaction but underneath will be a void of meaning that will be hard to live with. As the proverb says: “Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief” (14:13).
Reflect on your motives in the light of this and ask God to lead you in his way today.
Read Proverbs 14:1-13
