SUBMERGEഉദാഹരണം

The Art of Steering

When my oldest daughter was ready to get her driver’s license, we decided to do her driver’s ed on our own. As I recall, my most common phrase to my daughter, when I took her out for her to practice driving was, “Slow down, slow down, slow down.” Whether it was a matter of her approaching the car ahead of us at a red light or careening around a curve so fast that it felt like we were tipped onto just two wheels, the one part of the car I most wanted to be sure she mastered was the brake pedal. In fact, I remember thinking it would be a great idea if driver’s-ed cars were equipped with a brake pedal on the passenger’s side so I could apply the brakes when she failed to do so.

But you can’t teach someone how to drive just by focusing on the brakes. Yet that is what the church has often done in trying to teach others how to make it through this life. How do you stay on track? Just put on the brakes!

We often speak of the Christian life in terms of “saying no to our desires.” And while it is true that one of the signs of our maturity in our spiritual walk is our growing ability to say “no” to sinful desires, it’s also true that one of the signs of our spiritual maturity is our growing ability to cultivate healthy desires.

The psalmist uses language that is consumed with rightly ordered desires, seeking God, longing for God, and thirsting for God. To pattern our lives after the psalmist is to develop the art of steering. Instead of just focusing on the brakes, we can ask the question, “Where do we want to go in life?” Then, we work to cultivate the good desires that will take us there with the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit. The Christian life doesn’t just consist of hitting the brakes on our desires. It is also knowing the right desires and steering well on the right path.

Reflection:

What practices can you focus on that help you with “the art of steering” – following the right direction for your life?

Dr. Jim Fitzgerald
Chair & Professor, SNU School of Theology and Ministry