Know where you want to go

In "Alice in Wonderland," Alice comes to a fork in the road asking the Cheshire Cat which way she should go. The mysterious cat replies, "That depends a good deal on where you want to go." "I don't much care where," says Alice. "Then it doesn't much matter which way you go," rebuffs the cat.

The advice in this fictional exchange illustrates the importance of knowing where you want to go before you set out on your journey. Countless graduations, speeches, self-help talks and even sermons have used this quote to stress the priority of knowing where you are going before you set you're on your journey. For the two or three people in the crowd who have written their five, ten, and twenty-year plans, this dialogue resonates with them. But for those of us who at lunchtime are trying to decide what they should have had for breakfast, the children's story is another beratement of their lack of vision and planning.

Perhaps if Alice had Psalm 1:1-2 before her, she would see that the right road to take is not dependent upon where she wants to go but who is influencing her. The Psalmist writes,

1 Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

Happiness this side of heaven begins with who is influencing your heart and decision making. The wicked, the sinners and the scoffer are those who have set themselves against God. Those who reject even the idea of the existence of a creator who has authority over his creation. The influences you listen to are more important than the road you initially choose.

The Psalmist elevates the blessed life as setting heart and head upon the words of God. To know first that God has spoken. That God is shaping you. That God will instill within you a voice to know which path to take.

Alice interrupts, "So long as I get somewhere." "Oh," says the cat, "you're sure to do that if only you walk long enough." Stick with something long enough, and you'll eventually get to where it is going. Who is shaping you matters more than the road you start on.