Proverbs 14:2 He whose walk is upright fears the Lord,
but he whose ways are devious despises him.

“Upright” and “devious” are accurate enough translations, but the contrast is a little clearer in the more literal Japanese translation: “He who walks straight” and “he who walks crooked.” That said, the principle expressed in this verse is certainly true. It’s not just that fearing the Lord will make you walk straight, it’s that walking straight gives you an appreciation for the Lord. Likewise, those who wander all over the place, morally and ethically speaking, can’t really appreciate what the Lord does, and so they despise Him. We see this all the time in public figures, but less famous people show the same traits. The thing is, a devious lifestyle is incompatible with a right relationship to our Creator. We were made for fellowship with Him, but when He walks straight and we walk crooked, that fellowship never develops. That’s true even between people, but the consequences aren’t nearly as serious. The thing is, we will spend eternity with whomever we choose to walk with in this life. If we choose to walk straight with God, then “heaven” is the word applied to our eternity. If we choose to be crooked, that is the way of the devil, and his eternity is called “hell.” Our values, what we consider important, speak volumes about the state of our soul. They are the “turn signals,” so to speak, of our life. If we’re always wanting to turn this way and that, then we will despise the One who calls us to walk straight.

As a pastor I am constantly dealing with people who can’t seem to get their priorities straight. For that matter, I’ve struggled with the issue myself. It comes back to a principle stated in Psalm 37:4. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Jesus said the same thing slightly differently in Matthew 6:33. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I’ve found by experience that the more I make the Lord my priority, the better I am able to recognize and appropriate His provision on every level, emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. However, when I try to share that truth, people are very prone to say, “But…!” It does take faith, but to get the faith we need we have to exercise the faith we’ve already been given. Translations differ, but Romans 12:3 seems to say that everyone has been given some level of faith, and I’d have to say that’s the case. I need to encourage people to take in the Word of God and exercise the faith they have so that it will grow, just like muscle that is fed and exercised.

Father, thank You for all the times You have been gracious to me when my priorities have been wrong and my faith weak. Help me be an open channel of Your grace to those around me, so that together we may walk straight with You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!