Reflections: Stay on the path

Since childhood, I’ve quoted Psalm 23 by memory. I read it aloud at my dad’s bedside during his last day on earth, October 11, 2021, and it will always be one of my favorites. All the verses are encouraging, but recently I particularly noticed v.3, “He leads me in paths of righteousness, for his name’s sake.”

Much has been written about staying on the right path and allowing God to lead, but what about the word “path” itself, as opposed to words like “road” or “highway?” Although modern pavement had not been invented in Old Testament times, some trade routes were well-developed, and by New Testament times, the Romans had fairly sophisticated road surfaces to facilitate keeping an eye on the empire; those surfaces actually aided the spread of the Gospel as apostles and early Christians visited and sent mail.

So, why paths?

Paths develop as someone needs to get from one place to another, pushing brush and grasses out of the way, maybe encountering an obstacle making a slightly different choice better. Another person coming along afterward would follow the trail left by the first one, until eventually the grass wore down. As a shepherd, David likely developed paths of his own or followed those left by others taking sheep to pasture and water.

My Ozarks ancestors had to work around large rocks, move smaller ones, and chop down trees to find a homesite, move animals and tools through the woods, haul logs for a cabin, and start subsistence farming. As more people moved into small communities, often with a small store which served as post office and community center, roads were developed along the most frequently used paths. Later generations have all but forgotten how hard our grandparents worked at those lovely old home places; my dad hauled firewood or railroad ties by mule and wagon to sell in town for a few cents during the Depression. Three of the 6 miles were backwoods paths before reaching a gravel road; there’s now paved road much of the way.

After my mother died, and in summers even after my dad remarried, I spent lots of time with my aunt, a farm wife with a large garden. The house was on the ridge; the garden in “bottom land” near the pond and hayfields. Making our way every morning down the path through the woods to tend the vegetables, or during haying season to take water to the workers, she warned me to stay on the path; on each side were unpleasant creatures and poison ivy just waiting for a curious 5-year-old to disobey. She and my uncle had made that path the hard way, eventually widening it enough to allow a tractor to get to the field, and I benefited from it, but only if I stayed on it.

The Bible contains many references to paths, and most imply following in the footsteps of others, warning readers to follow the godly rather than the wicked. Jeremiah 6:16 tells Israel—and us, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’” In other words, trust God’s laws and those who have gone before. Other verses stress hearing from God: “In all your ways acknowledge [the Lord], and he will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6).

It’s tempting to look for new routes to relationship with God, maybe to avoid conflict or to be inclusive, but we can trust the paths laid by the godly who have gone before—prophets, apostles, Christian martyrs, and even God-fearing parents. We do well to stay in the paths they have shown us.