Mensa Otabil - Paths and Destinations (11/05/2025)
We’re looking at Proverbs Chapter 14 and learning lessons of wisdom from the Book of Proverbs. It’s always important that we apply our hearts to the things we hear from the Scriptures. So we are at verse number 12, Proverbs 14:12: «There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.» The paths we take in life will determine the destinations we arrive at. It’s a very simple principle: if you take a path towards a certain place, that’s where you’re going to arrive. If we choose the right way, we arrive at the right destination; if we choose the wrong way, we arrive at the wrong destination.
The question we all have to think about as we journey through life is: What path am I on? Is it the right path or the wrong way? The passage says that sometimes a way may seem right to us, but it is, in fact, the wrong way. The fact that you think it’s right does not make it right. So what are the things we should be considering as we evaluate the path we are on-whether it’s the right way or the wrong way? I’m going to talk about three characteristics of the wrong way.
First, the wrong way is easy. The wrong way is usually accessible; it does not offer us much resistance. One of the reasons the wrong way is easy is because many people are on it. As human beings, we are social creatures- we like company. So when a lot of people are doing something, we tend to follow along with them. If many people are buying something, we think it’s right for us to buy it. If a lot of people are behaving a certain way, we think we should also behave that same way. Because of this, the wrong way, when the majority is doing it, is very easy since everybody is participating. That’s one of the reasons a way may seem right to us but is wrong: because everybody is doing it. The reality of life, especially from the Bible’s perspective, is that the majority are usually wrong; that’s the Bible’s concept. The wrong way may seem easy.
Secondly, the wrong way is usually pleasurable. Normally, when something is pleasurable, it gives us enjoyment; it’s fun, exciting, and innovative. We assume it’s good. So, it may seem right to us. Some people will ask, «How can something that feels so good be wrong?» If it gives me pleasure and makes me feel good, how can it be wrong? We equate good feelings with being right. However, you know that is the age-old temptation. In the Book of Genesis, the first temptation seemed good and felt good, but it was wrong. So, if you think that just because something is popular or fun and exciting, it must be right, you will end up on the wrong path. Sin is always packaged as pleasurable. Come to think of it, would you commit sin if it were not pleasurable? No.
Thirdly, the wrong way usually offers short-term instant gratification. It’s something that you do that makes you feel good right now or provides you a result immediately because the wrong way doesn’t consider the end; it doesn’t think about consequences. For us as human beings, it doesn’t think about eternity, whether there is a heaven or a hell. Many of us have banished heaven and hell to ancient myths, as if there are no eternal consequences to our actions. If you’re not thinking about eternal consequences, you are most likely doing the wrong thing.
So that’s what we learn about the wrong way. Let’s pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, deliver me from self-deception. Help me to see life from an eternal point of view. In Jesus' name, amen.»