Listen, my child, and accept my words, so that the years of your life will be many. I hereby guide you in the way of wisdom and I lead you in upright paths.
When you walk, your steps will not be hampered, and when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; protect it, because it is your life.
(Proverbs 4:10-13)
Life is a series of day-long races. Solomon recommends training hard for and planning carefully for a lifestyle of integrity; however, he suggests that the Lord directs our steps and that God’s purposes always prevail. We are to run a good race, looking straight ahead with our eyes fixed on the finish line, and moment by moment, day by day we are to be on the lookout for dangers ahead and avoid them. Hasty shortcuts, he says, lead to poverty, and the inability to accept divine guidance results in a wild race.
The person dedicated to the good life, the life of integrity, knows the difficult and lonely path. The way of the world is a broad and easy avenue but the wise person is on the narrow road set apart from everyone else. Solomon maintains that the lifestyle of wisdom leads to light and joy, love and faithfulness, prosperity and a good reputation. Finally, a well-run race is the best safeguard against death on the coming Day of Judgment.
What kind of life are you prepared to live? Do you spend countless hours of arduous and lonely training or do you follow the crowd down the freeway of least resistance? Are you always in training to win the prize? Are you ready for the marathon ahead of you?