Sketchy

 I’m a big fan of specificity. Yes, I’m one of those boring people who follow recipes, and before I knew what it was, I even looked up the word pinch to see how much ginger I was supposed to put in my butternut squash soup. If it’s a job, tell me what’s expected of me. Not some esoteric we expect you to give it your all, we expect you to put in 110%, or even we expect you to do your best. Details; give me details. We expect you to move these bricks from here to here, and you have four hours to do it in sort of detail.

If it’s a recipe, lay out the ingredients, and tell me how much and when I’m supposed to put it in the pan. If it’s directions, relay them to me so that I won’t have to look for one-eyed Tom’s elm tree or the corner where the old Methodist church used to be before it burned down some years back.

When God gives direction, it’s clear. If you get your guidance from the Word, then there is no middleman to muddle up the specifics. Following directions from the Word is like looking at a map and tracing your course. You know the streets the map lays out will be there; you know the interstate will be where the map says it is.

When we decide not to follow the map but take third-hand directions from someone else is when we tend to get into trouble. Yes, some people like to take the scenic route. They like to go off the beaten path and explore, but I traveled so much as a teenager and well into my twenties and thirties that my only concern now is the quickest route to my destination. I made an exception for the corn palace once, and even that didn’t work out.

Anyone insisting you should follow them rather than the Word is akin to having a map in your hand and listening to someone on the side of the road about how to get halfway across the country. If you’ve got time to kill and nothing better to do, you can indulge them, but if you keep your eye on the map while they’re giving you directions and you see that what they’re telling you doesn’t line up with the map in your hand, trust the map. Thank them for their information, put the car in gear, and go.

I know the map says one thing, but ole’ twitchy Pete looked trustworthy enough; I think I’m going to go with his direction. I mean, the map is old; who knows how many new roads they’ve built since it was printed? Yeah, it’s probably outdated, and Pete made it seem so easy, and he had a calming voice and said I could cut my time in half with just one of his shortcuts. When he asked if I could spare a couple of bucks for a cup of coffee, I was more than happy to help him out, given all the exciting things he told me about that weren’t on the map.

There are countless spiritual versions of ole’ twitchy Pete, all eager to tell you some new things, some heretofore unheard of thing, new revelation, new anointing, new power, new authority, all new and easy to implement as swiping a credit card.

Whenever someone points out that what they’re saying doesn’t line up with the Bible, they either ignore you or accuse you of trying to quench the Spirit. I mean, sure, I’m trying to quench a spirit, but not the Spirit, but that’s beside the point.

But the Lord’s doing a new thing, brother! Who said? Was it the Lord? Oh, it was you, and I’m just supposed to take your word for it even though what you’re doing contradicts the Bible? Got it. Thanks anyway, but I think I’ll follow the Book rather than the new revelation delivered unto you, in heaven, while you were having a face-to-face with none other than God. Moses just got to see God’s back, but you, a lady no one’s heard of, got the honor of seeing Him face to face. Maybe that’s what God meant by ‘no man shall see me and live.’ It took a woman to stroke God’s beard and live to tell about it.

Why do so many fall for this type of nonsense? Because they never took the time to acquaint themselves with the Bible. They never took the time to familiarize themselves with the roadmap, threw it out the window altogether, and are now dependent on their direction from strangers on the side of the road who don’t know where they’re going themselves.

The Bible may be a light, but it’s too bright for some people. The light of scripture is a disinfectant. It exposes the dark sins of the heart. It places men in a position to choose which way they will go. Because they are more in love with their vices than they are with the God they claim to serve, they seek direction without the benefit of light, choosing to trust the voices in the dark that play a twisted version of Marco Polo with their spiritual walk.

They will gravitate toward anything, but the one thing that can ensure the direction they’re going in is the right one because the closer you get, the more baggage you have to leave behind, and for some, that is a fearful thing.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.