The Inclinations of Ourselves

(Proverbs 7:25 KJV)  Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.

What about my own spiritual stability?  How do I keep on the “Highway of Holiness?”  The slide starts in the “heart” (3820).  Even if there are outward pressures, ultimately I have the responsibility for the direction my heart goes.

We can “turn aside” (7847) from the path that God wants us on and the path we thought we had established. 

We can “turn aside” (7847) by a lack of diligence.  The turning is subtle at first.  I think of my commitment to get up in the morning at a time that allows an adequate window for worship.  In order to get up early and be alert, I need to go to bed early.  To get to be early I need to get things done early.  So the beginning of my failure in worship begins when I get lazy and start putting things off the day before.  At first it doesn’t make much difference.  I can get up a few times without enough sleep, but the inclination builds in time and the day comes where I reset the alarm and get another hour of sleep.

Where do I start to turn aside in other decisions?  That is hard to track.  We all have different points of distraction.  We are all at different points in our walk.  Being aware is the beginning.  This was jogged by a post on a blog that is new to me, Buttermilk80, and a post he calls, “Are You Aware.”  His theme is that we are involved in spiritual warfare and we try to ignore it.

So?  Check for drifting.  Examine your own priorities and choices.  Do your small decisions move you toward a life of righteousness or do they begin to grease the skids for a turning aside?  Only you can answer that question for yourself.