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Out Our Way: False trails - 1 John 4:1-4

Out our way, it is sometimes easy to get turned around when you are in unfamiliar territory. Now, Charlie knew the area well, so as long as I followed him, I never had to worry about getting lost. But there were times when we were checking for strays before a major push to new grazing land that we separated and I was on my own. 

Now, one thing I learned working on Tiger Ridge is that there are numerous cattle trails going every which way, and just because one looks easy and smooth doesn't mean it's the right one. What matters is if it will take you where you need to go. So, early on, Charlie taught me to look for clear indications that the trail I was following was the right one. For example, if I needed to get to the gate at the southeast corner of the winter pasture, I would ride to the top of a ridge and see which trails were leading that way and which were not, and then take the trail that clearly was going my way. In addition, Charlie taught me to check for landmarks like particular ridges and even some distant hills. And, as the winter pasture was downhill, I had a pretty fair notion that if I was constantly climbing one ridge after another, I was likely not going the right way. But above all, I had Charlie. Even when I could not see him, I had his directions to follow and it always got me there.

Now, in these days of moral confusion when good is bad, right is wrong and, in the words of the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels whose playbook is now being so widely used by those whose god is power,  "Always accuse your enemies of the very things you are doing," many are confused and being driven down the wrong trail. We are told to combat racism by being more racist, to defeat intolerance by being more intolerant, and to defeat misinformation by censoring anything that might contradict our present opinions - "Don't confuse me with facts, my mind's already made up."

Well, having ridden on the wrong trail too many times to count myself, I know just how easy it is to get turned around and going the wrong way. Indeed, if we are honest, I think we all have to admit to that. We are, after all, part of fallen humanity. But go back to the Tiger Ridge and remember the lessons learned there.

Go for the high ground and take a good long look at where your trail is leading. Is the path you are following, no matter how popular and praised it may be by others, leading to a better world and a better life for you and your neighbor? If not, why are you following it?  

Jesus is not the only rabbi who taught that the entire teachings of the Law and the Prophets can be summed up in two simple commandments: Love God and Love your neighbor. (Matthew 22:36-40) Any trail that leads away from those two connected goals is a false trail.

Read carefully what John says about the spirit of the Antichrist that is in the world. Then watch the news and note what trail the powerful elite who want to dominate our lives are demanding we take. Then take a good look at the consequences that have come about as society blindly follows it. Look where that trail is leading. Which spirit do you think is behind it?

I often got lost and turned around up on the Tiger. I took the wrong trail more than a few times - and even after I wised up and started really paying attention, I still managed to occasionally get it wrong. But Charlie was always around and, sooner or later, if I looked for him, I would spot him and head back the right way. I could be misguided, but Charlie couldn't - and I could never go wrong when I knew I followed Charlie.

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The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].

 

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