The Easy Way vs. God's Way

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."  (Pro. 14:12)

The Easy Way
"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit."  (Jud. 21:25)

When given a choice between an easy option and a difficult one, which are we more likely to select?  All other things being equal, the easy one.  But all other things are not equal.  Our choices have far-reaching ramifications, and God usually has a preference in them.  And, not surprisingly to us, His will has little to do with what's easy.

The United States Declaration of Independence asserts our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  That's ingrained in us.  We are not often encouraged to do difficult things unless the rewards are great - and clear to our senses.  No, more often we prefer the path of least resistance.  We'll work for a self-serving cause, or even a selfless cause we feel passionately about.  But we do not see God's benefits easily.  We are unaware of His rewards, unfamiliar with His Kingdom's ways, and often unconcerned with the glory of His name.  We are creatures of the easy way.

That's a natural tendency of a fallen humanity, and cultural ideals and elders who know better try to train us otherwise.  But, like the Israelites in one terribly lawless period, everyone does as he or she sees fit (Jud. 21:25).  We forget that God never asked us to do what seems right in our own eyes; He asks us to do what is right in His eyes.  Before the Holy Spirit lovingly invades our lives, we have no spiritual discernment and are guided by impure minds.  At the time, that seems like a satisfying independence.  But in truth, it's a scary way to live.

Consider God's ways with those in the Bible.  If difficulties indicated being out of God's will, Paul had most certainly gone astray.  (His hardships are listed in 2 Cor. 6:4-10.)  If obedience were always an easy decision, Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac was pointless.  No, our God calls us to hard things.  We don't like that, but we need to get used to it.  It's a temporary but certain component of the Kingdom of God: The way that seems right often isn't.

God's Way
"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live."  (Deut. 30:19)

The way of human ingenuity and discernment, according to the Bible, leads to death.  This verse is often applied to salvation, but it is much farther-reaching than that.  It applies to all of our choices.  We are confronted with constant decisions between self-will and God's will.  And the choices may be much more subtle than that: the easy way vs. the hard way, small compromises vs. absolute truth, or any other such confusing fork in the road.  We don't realize the gravity of our direction.  Man's way leads to death, while God's way leads to . . . well, death.

Have you considered that?  If we serve ourselves and cling to our false values, we will die.  If we submit to Jesus, we must die.  But the outcome is not as uniform as it seems.  This world offers us "life" and then death - forever.  God offers us "death" and then life - forever.  Fools choose the "life" of this world, the "life" of the party, the "life" of freedom from all responsibility.  The wise choose God.  Yes, that means a cross now - a daily cross, a painful cross, a difficult path of aversion to our own wills and submission to God's.  But in the end, it leads to life.

God is constantly calling us into His will.  We're afraid of Him.  We've been convinced by a hostile world and a lying enemy that God's will involves untold sacrifice and pain without a corresponding benefit.  We think it's all pain, no gain - or a lot of pain with very uncertain gain.  We just can't see the blessing beyond the cross.

But do you think you have a real alternative?  That cross we carry may be painful and sacrificial - it is not the easy way.  But it's the only way.  The alternative is to live outside the will of God, which equals a thousand deaths, each a thousand times worse than the blessed life of submission to the compassionate Lord.  What "life" are we embracing when we opt for self-will?  A momentary sense of satisfaction, perhaps.  But that won't last.  God's Kingdom will.  It's where life will live forever.

"Carry the cross patiently and with perfect submission, and in the end it shall carry you."  - Thomas à Kempis