A compass is a marvelous thing…if you never have any idea where you are going.  And that’s me.  Every time we have moved, I have spent hours getting my bearings as I drive up and down streets, lost as can be.   I love the maps app on my phone because it tells me, “Turn left here”.  A helpful arrow always shows which way to turn.

It does not matter whether I feel like I am going the right direction.  If I need to go north and the compass is pointed to “N”, that is the direction I need to head.  It also does not matter if every person in the car thinks north is the opposite direction, I will need to follow the compass.

Some people, like my husband, must have an internal compass.  When we entered Mexico City for the first time, we had directions, but they were hard to figure out.  (Roads and landmarks frequently change in the city.)  He knew which direction he needed to go, and he was able to stay the course.  We made a few wrong turns but we arrived at our destination, safe and sound.

A moral compass works the same way.  If we have one, we will find our way through life without too many wrong turns.  God’s word is a true and tested guide for life.  Sadly, many have rejected God’s Word and are wandering, with no sense of direction.  Leaders are guided by the latest polls, afraid to offend the crowd.  We make choices based on our feelings, even when we know we are walking away from God.

In 1 Samuel chapter 9 we read the story of young how Saul and his servant searched for his father’s lost animals.  When they are about to give up and head back home the servant makes this suggestion:

But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.”

Solomon saw fit to repeat this proverb twice:

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.  (Proverbs 14:12 & 16:25)

May we all walk with God and enjoy His blessing and guidance.  I pray for the leaders of our churches and of our country to have even more wisdom of than Solomon,  and to be like Samuel, with a strong moral compass. Perhaps our culture will find the way it should go.