The challenge of parking straight...and making good choices.

We pulled into a parking spot and my husband immediately said “You’re crooked, you need to straighten out the car.” 

(Now, if any of you know me, you know I'm a Philly girl and there are two things I do well. The first is parking a car, and the other is the Philly attitude.) I gave him a look (there it is…) and said, “Ummm, I think not.”

As I got out of the car, I looked at the lines for the parking space in relation to the car. It was nearly perfectly aligned on all sides...it was truly a thing of beauty (if I do say so myself.) Two of our kids were with us and as I humbly (cough) stated that my parking job was flawless, they both agreed. My husband got out of the car and, after checking it out, had to agree as well. He admitted the car was straight and I parked it exceptionally well (adverb may be the addition of the author).

So, why did he initially think the car was crooked? Well, he was looking at the other car facing us, which was parked a bit oddly, but he couldn’t really see that angle when he was sitting in the car. When he got out of the car and looked, really checked, he realized that the standard he was using to judge our accuracy and straightness was itself rather ‘off’.

How often do we look to other things to determine our own direction and ‘rightness’, things other than scripture and God himself? If we are looking to other people, ideas, and things rather than God, then we risk skewing our perspectives, our behavior, our thought life, and our goals, and ultimately, we head in the wrong direction, away from God.

As you read through the Old Testament, you see where, time after time, Israel tolerated the beliefs and behaviors of other nations who did not follow God. Instead of Israel following God and setting the standard, they looked to these other godless nations and imitated their behaviors. Rather than keeping their eyes only on the One true and Holy God, they became idolaters, and that shift in perspective, that ‘taking their eyes off the standard’ created a crooked path that was only corrected by God’s intervention and punishment. Only then, did they correct their direction and turn their eyes back to God, only to have it happen again.

It’s easy to get distracted by things we view as ‘right’, a standard to be imitated, something or someone worthy of our admiration and surely worth following. But does it measure up to God’s standard? Do they bring glory to God, or to themselves?

The book of Acts details the spread of the Gospel throughout the region and the growing impact the Apostles had among the people they encountered and taught. Let’s face it, the Apostles were famous. People were known to imitate them and even fight over which Apostle/teacher they followed- “I follow Paul” and others “I follow Apollos” (I Cor 3:4). But, the Bereans were different. Acts 17 says “they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” They listened with great interest, but they didn’t buy in until they verified that what they were hearing aligned with Scripture and God’s standard.

But you’re likely saying, “Oh, we don’t do that.” Don’t we? As believers and followers of Jesus, we likely don’t look to Hollywood as our #goals. But let’s be honest. We have our own ‘rock stars’ we follow.

I might be getting into dangerous territory here, but I’m going to dive in…buckle up kids. Whether it is a particular denomination to which we belong, a famous pastor or author we listen to or read, or even people involved in music and worship, we have our ‘pedestal people’. How often do we seriously evaluate the message through the lens of Scripture, or do we simply take it for granted that it aligns because we respect them? I’m not calling you to stir up trouble, but I am encouraging you to think critically. Think deeply. What is God’s standard and is what you’re reading, listening to, learning, and believing in line with His standard…or are you in danger of a crooked parking job? Don't just take things at face value but really measure them against Scripture.

Paul and Silas commended the Bereans for their discernment. They were not offended that the people went to the Scriptures rather than just believing what was preached. The Apostles were delighted that these people showed that their standard was Scripture and their eyes were on God.

Let’s straighten our viewpoint, align our values and evaluation methods by Scripture and then push forward. Let’s encourage each other in the right direction and ensure that we’re following God’s standards and not being deceived by crooked lines.