The Straight and Narrow

"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."  Jesus

My 2013 Nissan Altima came equipped with a navigation system.  I seldom use the system as I prefer to use the GPS on my phone,  I use my phone GPS for work and I'm just more comfortable with it than the one in my car.  Specifically, my phone GPS is much more detailed in the last half mile or so when I need the turn by turn directions the most.

But for the last three years I have purchased and installed the update software for my car's navigation system.  Why do I do that?  Good question.  The reason is that although I don't use it that often, when I do use the navigation system I  want all of the information to be up to date.

On a  five hour trip back home yesterday from my hometown of Enterprise, Alabama, I decided to activate the navigation and see what she had to say.  I can learn a lot about a GPS when I already know where I'm going.  I set the system for Home and let her take charge.  I didn't notice anything much different, but some of her commentary has changed for the better. For example, she not only says "Prepare to turn right" but in a few seconds she adds "Turn right in 1,000 feet."  That's very useful information.  I wish she gave the name of the street like my phone, but it's an improvement. But anytime I took an exit to take care of bodily needs, she protested by saying "Drive straight."  There were several exit ramps that if I had driven straight, my car would be crumpled and I might be dead.  "I appreciate your concern, but I am not going to drive straight."

The quote above from Jesus has become known as "walking the straight and narrow." What did Jesus mean by "narrow the road that leads to life?"  Who knows? Nobody knows for certain what Jesus meant by anything He said.  People can speculate. They can form opinions. They can pretend to know what they're talking about.  But nobody knows for sure.  We not only can't know for certain what He meant by what He said, we also can't always understand why Jesus did the things He did.  Once when  He was hungry, Jesus  reached for  a fig, but according to the account in Mark chapter 11 it was not the season for figs. So He cursed the tree and it died.  Was that a nice thing to do to a tree that was simply doing what it was created to do? Was it the fig tree's fault that it had no figs? On another occasion as recorded in Matthew chapter 14 a woman was begging Jesus for food. He  said to her, "Is it right to take the children's food and give it to the dogs?"  Was that a nice thing for the Son of God to say to a hungry woman?  Was that a nice thing for the son of anyone to say to a  hungry woman?

I think in many cases it's easier to decide what Jesus didn't mean by what He said than to know for sure what He did mean.  I don't think by "narrow road", Jesus meant "narrow minded", an unfortunate trait shared by many of His followers.  The dictionary definition of "narrow minded" is "not willing to listen to or to tolerate other people's views."  Is there any way that Jesus was saying that? Was He saying "Do not be open to learning, growing and to new ideas?" Surely He didn't mean that you should always hang onto  rigid dogma regardless of evidence to the contrary. I have trouble believing that that is what He meant.

What about "Broad is the road that leads to destruction.?" Again, I don't know. Maybe He meant, "Whereas it's not a good thing to hold on forever to the same old opinions and beliefs,  it's very dangerous to have no core beliefs at all". We all need a Divine center, a moral compass. All of our decisions need to be held up against this center  to see it they agree with our basic values. But it's important to remember that we can and should adjust those core values as we learn and grow. The operating system is the brains of our computers, but it is subject to routine and important updates.  It wants to be the best computer possible. Our belief systems are not much different. They need to be constantly updated for our decision-making to be current and effective.

A GPS is a very useful device.  But it would be very unwise to follow its instructions verbatim. You would do so at your own peril. I recently read of a Canadian woman who late at night faithfully followed her GPS down a boat ramp and into frigid waters.  She could have easily drowned, but she was rescued and lived to tell the tale. This afternoon  I took an alternate route because of a tie-up on the interstate. The navigation system protested.  She not only let me know that she was not happy with my new route, but she stayed unhappy for quite some time.  At every other street she told me to turn left or turn right or to make a u-turn. She tried every way possible to get me back to the interstate where I was supposed to be.  Finally, after about five miles she gave in and said "Follow the road."  I let her think that I was following her, but at this point she was following me. I knew the way home.

I have some ideas about why Jesus cursed the fig tree when it was out of season.  I have an opinion on why Jesus told  the woman that the children's food was not for dogs.  I've thought about both of these stories quite a bit. I had to work these harsh words and actions out for myself. In one case I think He was upset (humans get upset from time to time) and in the other He was making a point to those around Him and not to the woman He was speaking to.  Remember that the recorded words of Jesus are devoid of facial expression and body language, both vital parts of  verbal communication. It is also imperative to consider that we're reading what the writer said He said. And these words have been passed down through the centuries to  us. Is there any way that what we're reading is exactly what Jesus said? I doubt it.

So will I buy a navigation system for the next car I purchase?  Probably so. In the first place a GPS comes standard now on most new cars. Also I enjoy the company when I'm traveling by myself.  A GPS isn't perfect, but on most occasions I would be totally lost without it. The words of Jesus may not be perfect, but their guidance has delivered me home time and time again.