Life is built on choices.
In his poem, The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost reflects on the wonder and mystery of the choices we make, and the direction life takes. In case you’re not familiar with it, here it is in its entirety:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Every road taken leads somewhere, creating a unique set of circumstances. Some are good, others difficult. Many choices seem inconsequential, but none truly are. Every choice accumulates into an array of somewheres that evolve into the story of life.
As he reflects on the two roads, Frost laments that choosing one will likely forever exclude the other: Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.
He was right. Life moves relentlessly forward. Once a course is set, there is no going back. Oh, how we sometimes wish we could go back…
Jesus also spoke of two roads — and of one being less traveled:
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14.
God spoke of choosing between two roads as He was preparing to send Israel into the promised land:
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Deuteronomy 30:19.
Adam encountered two roads in the Garden of Eden as he considered the pleasing fruit hanging from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. See Genesis 3. He chose wrong. He chose pride. He chose rebellion against God. The road he chose led to death for all mankind. See Romans 5.
King David encountered two roads as he was taking an evening stroll on his palace rooftop. See II Samuel 11. One was narrow and led to honor. The other was broad and well-worn and led to Bathsheba, adultery, murder, death and shame.
Moses encountered two roads as he stood before the thirsty Israelites and a rock in the desert. See Numbers 20. He chose wrong. It led to being disqualified from entering the promised land.
Judas encountered two roads as he considered the counterintuitive strategy being employed by his teacher, Jesus the Messiah. See Matthew 26:14-16. He chose wrong. It led to suicide.
On a very fateful night, Peter encountered two roads when someone asked him about being a follower of Jesus Christ. See John 18. He chose wrong — three times. His choices led to deep regret and shame.
Two roads. Narrow and wide. Blessings and curses. Life and death.
Have you ever wondered why these very good men living in extraordinary circumstances made such very wrong choices?
And what about all of the very good men who have made wrong choices throughout history? How is it that men of good character and honor can choose to suffer terrible moral failures? What is it that leads a good man to make a horrible choice?
And what about you and me? We’re good men, yet often we choose the wrong road. Our choices don’t usually lead to public moral failure, but they are choices and failures, nonetheless. They produce consequences that negatively impact our potential, our families, our communities, and even the good name of Jesus Christ and the mission of God. Why do we do it? What are the factors that lead us to choose the wrong road?
This article is the first in a series of articles called Two Roads. In it we will explore the reasons why we make certain fateful decisions.
My friend, there are reasons. We don’t just make bad choices on a whim. There are identifiable processes at work that lead us in a direction — and as we learn about those processes — we can become better prepared to make choices that lead to life and blessing.
A good man doesn’t have to fail. I pray you will join me in this journey each week. In fact, I ask you to find three or four other men to meet with weekly to discuss this series of articles. Guys, we need each other. We were never meant to travel the road of life alone. There is safety in numbers. I’ll seek out my guys — and I pray you will do the same. I look forward to sharing this journey with you.
