Ask for Directions

In any area of life, how do you get from where you are to where you want to be? The answer is simple, you must take the necessary steps that will move you in the direction of where you want to go.

In the Book of Proverbs chapter 7, Solomon tells the story of a man who was looking through his window and saw a group of young men walking by. Out of the group, one of the young men stood out. The man described this youth as being more naive than the rest. Then said about him, “he’s like a calf walking to the slaughter.”

How could he know that? Well, it’s simple, the man looked at the direction this youth was walking in and knew where the road ended. As the sun began to go down the young man separated himself from the rest of the group and walked towards the house of a prostitute. She came out to receive him and enticed him to follow her. It’s at this point that the man said, “he’s like a calf walking to the slaughter.” But again, how did he know that? The young man was only intending to enjoy a night a passion. But there was something that the man looking through the window knew that the young man did not know.

Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.

– Proverbs 7: 27 NIV

The man at the window had seen countless young men like this one. Young men who entered this woman’s house intending to have a night of pleasure but instead ending up dead. So, how do you get from where you are to where you want to be.

Ask for directions, don’t assume that you’re on the right road, ask for directions. But don’t ask the people who are walking down the same road as you are, they may be as naive about the end of the road as you. Ask the older wise man looking out the window. If you’re contemplating divorce don’t ask your friend who got divorced. Ask the wise couple that has been married for 30, 40 or 50 years. If you’re contemplating bankruptcy, don’t just ask people who’ve declared bankruptcy. Ask those wise people who went through financial difficulties and avoided bankruptcy. And remember that it’s direction, not intentions that determine your destination.