Sidewalk, Schmidewalk…

Have I ever mentioned before that we live in a cul-de-sac? I am really glad we chose the neighborhood that we live in. All of our neighbors are pleasant people, there’s a good mix of older folks and young families, and we haven’t had too many problems with noisy parties or fast drivers, etc. We also have a lot less traffic because we’re not a through-road.

We have LOTS of sidewalks in our whole neighborhood. I could easily go out for a walk every day and walk 3 or 4 miles, changing up the route, and never not have sidewalks. I truly love that!

So do our neighbors. There are always people walking past our house with their dogs, their kids in strollers, with friends chatting, or just by themselves with their headphones on jamming to whatever music or podcast keeps them motivated.

Even though we have sidewalks along literally every street, and they are all in good condition, there are some hold-outs who refuse to walk on them. Sometimes it’s a pair of women walking side-by-side, and they are almost in the middle of the road, just chatting away, oblivious to the peril they are in.

The other night my oldest daughter texted us and said she almost hit an old man going around the curve on our road because it was pitch black outside, he was in dark clothes, and walking on the road with a cane!

I don’t understand this trend. We have sidewalks. The name literally tells you that they are for walking on the side of the road. They were built for pedestrian safety, and are a really good idea.

Apparently not everyone thinks so. Sometimes when I’m driving, a pair of ladies will be waking in the road on my side, and oncoming traffic is coming from the other direction. Do you think those ladies will move off the road to accommodate the cars that actually belong there? Of course not! And if you gently hoot at them to move, boy do they get bent out of shape!

And that old man the other night? He raised his arms in frustration at my daughter (like the old crank in “Up”) like she did something wrong by not hitting him, even though he was certainly not helping matters by dressing all in black and walking on the road at night. On a curve.

This made me think about our spiritual lives. There are people who know where they’re supposed to walk. The way is clearly marked. And yet, perhaps because a friend walks with them, they get pulled onto a path that could cause them danger. Or maybe they walk there on their own because they think they can handle it.

So they don’t take precautions, even when it’s dark, and end up putting themselves at risk. And when someone comes along and suggests they get back on the ‘sidewalk’, their feathers get all ruffled and they react with annoyance and anger. “It’s fine! I’ve never been hurt doing this before! Mind your business!”

As your sister in Christ, if I see you walking in the road, it’s my business to urge you back onto the sidewalk. Drivers may be distracted and not aware they could hurt you. Other walkers may not know the risks, and therefore have no qualms about being reckless. Because I love you, I will warn you.

Part of being in the body of Christ is checking yourself (after you’ve worked through being offended) when someone confronts you with a loving warning. Confrontation is meant to bring restoration. Rebuke can be a blessing. Godly warning can save you from a whole world of hurt, if you will listen.

The ‘sidewalk’ God has created is there for our safety. You want to take a risk? Get a funky haircut. Try a new food. Stay up all night and then try to go to work the next day. Ask someone you don’t know well to go out for coffee.

Don’t take risks by messing around with walking in the road. Stay on the clear path. You’ll thank me later.

Psalm 119:35
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

Proverbs 4: 26-27
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

Proverbs 1:8-16
8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.