Michael Decalvo was running in a marathon race a number of years ago. When he came to a certain point in the race he noticed that several of the runners were heading off in a particular direction that he knew was the correct course direction. He tried to warn the runners that they were heading the wrong way, but they wouldn’t listen and even mocked him for suggesting that he knew better than they.

Though everyone crossed the finish line, in the end many of the runners were disqualified because they did not listen to Michael and ran off the designated course. When asked about it, Michael shrugged and said, “They thought it was funny that I would choose the direction I did. But now guess who’s laughing?”

We may know the destination we want to reach, but if we go the wrong direction to get there, we miss the mark. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.” The fact is… Direction (our second D) determines Destination.

#2: A Matter of DIRECTION

Think of Direction as your worldview. Your definition of success—destination—requires a certain path, or DIRECTION, to achieve. For example, if your worldview believes that life is about you—what makes your feel good—your life direction will probably be the path of convenience and amusement. This path is all about what is fun, comfortable, and makes you feel good. It rarely takes into consideration what is good for your grandchildren in the long run.

On the other hand, if your worldview is built on the truth that we are God’s creation created in His image to reveal His glory and greatness by doing what is right, then you will choose the path of commitment and conviction. This path doesn’t preclude having a good time, but it does value character above convenience and pressure to conform to cultural norms.

Remember, every path (direction) has a pre-determined destination. You may convince yourself that you want to get to a certain destination, but because of the direction you choose, that path will lead to a completely different destination than you intended.

You may say that your intended destination is to see your grandchildren walking in the truth, but if the direction you take is the path of convenience, no amount of good intentions will change the destination of that path. That path already has a pre-determined destination, unless we change paths. The challenge becomes how to stay on the path that leads to the right destination. Which is a good segue to the next ‘D’…

GrandPause: Cowardice asks the question: “Is it safe?” Consensus asks the question: “Is it popular?” Courage asks the question: “Is it right?”  –Rod Rogers