Whac-A-Mole: Relativism — Monday
Proverbs 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (ESV)
Like many young men, I’ve always longed for the thrill of adventure. In my young adulthood, I spent years behind books and computer screens whether in school or in my professional career. When I wasn’t reading, researching, or writing, I was dreaming of a life in the wilderness. A life like many of the Old Testament heroes who would leave their father’s homeland and learn to be one with the Great “I AM.” A life free of this world. A life driven by faith. When I turned 30, I made the decision to do just that. I decided I was going to leave my career behind as an attorney and municipal planner, and I was going to hike the Appalachian Trail from Spring Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. I had it all planned out. I would start in early spring and spend the next 6 months hiking the 2,200-mile trek. I put my professional skills to the test and researched everything I could about the trip that only about 750 people complete every year.
In my research, I came across the story of a young man who got lost on the trail rather early on. He was using a broken compass. His compass pointed north, but it was not TRUE north. The needle pointed ever so slightly to the side of true north. While the trail was well worn by those who walked before him, with plenty of signs pointing the way, He put his trust in his own hands. The needle’s magnetization was corrupted by the influence of the hiker’s cell phone just enough to lead him off the path and in the wrong direction.
Believing the lie that truth is relative and not absolute is like following a broken compass. On its face, this philosophy appears to have merit. To tingling ears, it seems right. However, it will lead you in the wrong direction from the very start and far from your destination by the very end. Anything that leads away from Jesus, leads only to death. Colossians 2:6-8 states, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (ESV).
Monday’s Reflection
“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” - C. H. Spurgeon
Ask yourself: Who are you following? Who are you becoming? Pray for discernment to know the truth. Pray for wisdom to discern what’s right from what’s almost right.