The Straight & Narrow

 

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

I find it funny how adages, aphorisms, axioms, maxims and mottos that I heard growing up were often sayings from the Christian Bible. I was sure young the first time that I should “walk the straight and narrow” and know that it was talking about having good and decent morals, honest and just ethics, proper and honorable manners, free from lying, cheating, stealing, and selfishness. I don’t know about you, but I heard “The Golden Rule” of treat others as you would want them to treat you, way before I found that it was a Bible verse.

Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

They were good lessons of life being taught by adults in my life that were caring, concerned and active in the teaching of the next generation in the “right for society” and “right before God” ways of community unity and cultural peace and social tranquility. People have a basic knowledge of “right and wrong” because  as Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us: “He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” But, our sin nature tempts our hearts daily towards the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5; 16-21), distracted on that broad way that leads to destruction. The foundation standards of “right and wrong” are the just and perfect statutes and biblical principles laid down for “good” life and living by our Creator, Father God found in His Holy Word. But, the living Scriptures must be communicated and explained to those who do not know and are being taught the opposite message by the secular humanistic and materialistic, God-rejecting world that we live. We must make clear, what is confusing and conflicting, so that “good does not become evil, and evil become good” as warned in Isaiah 5:20. The Bible even tells us how to go about this good task.

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Therefore, we must teach and train up our children about the right way, the honest truth and the good life of following Jesus Christ, as a child of God. Romans 10:14 asks, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? “The good way is the God way, through the narrow gate and along the straight and narrow path, lit by the Word of God. In this way, we need to narrow-minded and train them up in the way that they should go for today and for eternity.

Psalm 34:14 “Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.”

In Christ, Brian