Voices

I took my kids to the fair last night here in Sebring.  We had a ball!  It was a fantastic Thursday night.

We saw friends, watched a live show with huge tigers, and ate flat out mind-blowing food.  The funnel cake was my personal favorite.  Of course they got on the rides, and seeing that I have retired from those kinds of rides, I enjoyed watching them.

There was only one thing I did not like at the fair.  I never like this part.  And I talked with my kids beforehand to prepare them for it.

Voices.

When we walked from ride to ride, the people working the various games were calling out to us.  Constantly!

"Hey man, come over here!  For $5 you can throw darts and win your kid a prize."

"Hey kid, come over here!  For $5 you can shoot this basketball and win a prize."

I don't judge those people.  They're just doing their job and trying to earn a living.  I get it.  But those games are a rip-off and a waste of money.

So as we walked past them, I kept saying to my kids "Just look straight ahead, follow me, and don't even look at them."  And my kids did just that.  They walked with me and did not even look to the left or right when the game voices were ringing in the air.

You know, we all hear voices calling out to us along the journey of life.  They're not just at fairs.  This world has people who invite us with smooth tongues and convincing ideas to stray off the path that God has laid out for us.

Some voices call us to question the truth of God's Word.  Some voices call us to abandon our morals and principles for an excursion into sin and evil.  Some voices call us to throw away our lives for cheap thrills and empty promises.

Proverbs 4:25-27 tells us what to do when those voices are calling out to us:  "Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.  Give careful thought to the paths of your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.  Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil."

As I led my kids past the voices last night, I thought about how God, our Heavenly Father, leads us.  He calls us to focus straight ahead on Him, keep our minds locked on His righteousness, and ignore those dangerous voices that call us to stray off the straight and narrow to the right or left.  I reflected on how we all must zone in on the perfect leadership of The Lord and tune out the dark call of the world.

Friends, be careful along the journey of life.  It's a little dangerous out there.  Not every voice we hear should be trusted or followed.  But if we keep our eyes locked onto our Heavenly Father, and if we faithfully follow Him, we will travel the right path and experience a blessed life.