COSTLY ABANDONMENT

 

Prov. 15:10  Whoever abandons the right path will be severely punished; whoever hates correction will die.  NLT

      We must pay attention to this truth!  There is severe punishment for those who abandon the right path.  First of all, although it is not stated, it is God who punishes those who abandon Him.  I don’t want to speculate on what that punishment may be, but I am certain that it won’t be pleasant to be subjected to severe punishment from God.

      We also note that it is possible to abandon the right path.   We can choose to do things that are displeasing to God.  We can choose to not honor and serve Him.  We can choose to not obey Him and let Him be the influencer of our lives.  We are not spiritually stuck when we give the Lord our hearts. 

      No one who takes their faith seriously and is disciplined in it will abandon the Lord.  Neglect is where it all starts.  In order to stay true to the Lord we must be students of the Word.  We must be reading, studying and meditating on the Word.  We must let it be our measuring stick and strive to live consistently according to the Word.  We must also be participators in prayer.  We must pray regularly ourselves and not rely on others to pray for us.  We must spend time alone with God in daily conversation.  We must be driven by our faith and refuse to let it grow cold.

       Anyone who hates correction will die.  No one is beyond the need of correction.  We need to know where we fall short of God’s standards of holiness and be humble enough to change our ways.  We need to hear from God and others how to better live for Christ.  We need to confront each other in a loving way so we can become more like the Master, a people after His own heart.  Anyone who cannot, or won’t be, corrected has no hope or help from God.  He will not live a life that is right with God and he will die in his sins. 

      “Lord, keep our souls humble and pliable.  Help us to never let sin harden our hearts.  Strip us of any pride that keeps us from not accepting correction when we need it.  Give us open hearts that we may gladly accept Your corrections.  Lord, we need your help if we are going to stay on the path that leads us to heaven.  We need you, O Lord and we declare anew our allegiance to you.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.”