“Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.” Proverbs 4:25-27
Going to the beach has never been a regular part of my life, either as a child or an adult. As a result, I never really acquired some of the basic knowledge about swimming in the ocean that other people seem to simply know. For example, when you’re out in the water playing around and trying to ride the waves, the current imperceptibly moves you farther and farther down the beach. I’ll never forget being in the ocean, then looking up and not recognizing anything in front of me. It was disorienting. The only way to prevent that drift from happening is to find a landmark on the beach, consistently glance at it, and then move back toward it every so often. And, if you don’t want to drift at all, you’re going to have to stare at the landmark almost the entire time.
In the same way, Solomon is telling us in this proverb that we have to keep our eyes fixed on what is before us if we’re going to stay on the path of righteousness. We should think carefully about (ponder) the path on which our feet are taking us as we keep our gazed fixed on what’s ahead. Of course, verse 27 implies that if we fail to keep our gaze straight before us, we will inevitably swerve off the path and drift toward sin and wickedness.
Where we look makes all the difference. Solomon’s driving point is that we must have a direction, a place we’re heading, if we’re going to keep ourselves from drifting toward sin. Otherwise, our attention will be given to other things that will keep us from pursuing righteousness. In fact, just like the ocean currents constantly push you off course, the path is full of external forces pushing and pulling at us, even screaming at us to get our eyes off what’s before us.
All of this leads us to the ultimate question: On what should we fix our gaze? What will captivate us in such a way that our eyes will not drift to the right or left? Well, the New Testament makes that clear for us in Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
We are called to keep our eyes on Jesus. Sanctification in the Christian life is marked by developing a love and affection for Christ that overwhelms all competing voices. The more we work to cultivate a longing for the glory of Christ in our hearts, the easier it is to keep our gaze fixed on what’s ahead; not swerving to the left or right, but running straight ahead toward Jesus.