² All a person’s ways seem pure to them,^(B)
    but motives are weighed^(C) by the Lord.^(D)

³ Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
    and he will establish your plans.^(E)

⁴ The Lord works out everything to its proper end^(F)—
    even the wicked for a day of disaster.^(G)

⁵ The Lord detests all the proud of heart.^(H)
    Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.^(I)

⁶ Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
    through the fear of the Lord^(J) evil is avoided.^(K)

⁷ When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way,
    he causes their enemies to make peace^(L) with them.

The Road Trip

“Like the characters in a Jack Kerouac novel, we’ve dirtied the dream of white picket picket fences with exhaust fumes.  The new dream is the open road – and freedom.

Yet we still desire the solace of faith.  We like the concept of the sacred, but unwittingly subscribe to secularized, westernized spirituality.  We’re convinced that there is a deeper plot to this thing called life, yet watered-down, therapeutic doses of religion are all we choose to swallow.  Furthermore, we are content to have our own personal story trump any larger narrative.

This is the noncommittal culture of the road:  drive on freely, disregard destination.

But Jesus proved the journey doesn’t have to be aimless.  He was more than just a nomad with half a tank of gas and a pocketful of woander lust –  He had objectives, passion, and purpose.  Do we?”  (Taken from The Road Trip by Mark Sayers).

In studying Proverbs we have noted that destination of our path informs how we read the Proverbs.  Destination isn’t a nice thing to hope for, it is the meaning of the path.  For modern travelers through life, they claim it is arrogant to know the destination, but they assume an answer.  The common assumption is that the end of the road is the true or authentic self.  They misunderstand the destination and so they experience so much of the way of the fool and they die both estranged from self and God.  Set God as the destination of the road trip and wisdom and self-actualization are thrown in.  Focus on the experience of the road itself or on finding ‘self’ and all the joys of being a fool, sluggard, and wicked waste of time will find you. 

Questions

1. How is evil avoided on the road?
2. What happens when the LORD takes pleasure in the road you are traveling?
3. If you commit your way to the LORD what will he do?
4. What do road movies teach us about ‘the road’?
5. Why do Christians these days talk of their personal ‘journey’ and use travel metaphors?  Should they?

Going Deeper

Get a copy of The Road Trip by Mark Sayers and read it.  It dovetails with the wisdom of Proverbs.

http://www.thrive80.com/books-2/