Proverb 2:15

“Whose ways are crooked,
And who are devious in their paths;”

This person—the one who will forsake righteousness for darkness, who will rejoice in evil and perverse wickedness—they avoid the straight and narrow.

They are deviant.

They “show a skillful use of underhanded tactics to achieve goals” and take routes that are “longer and less direct than the most straightforward way,” according to the New Oxford American Dictionary.

After reading these two definitions, I get the idea that the goals of these people directly contradict the one goal that was designed for them in the beginning of time (with their very being in mind). Theirs overrides the divine in the pursuit of an adventurous, topsy-turvy, curvy type of journey instead of the “straight and narrow” as it’s been conveniently dubbed over the centuries. 

The truth of the matter is that when you deviate, you’re simply prolonging your journey. You confuse yourself along the way, with a little helper who’s out to kill, steal and destroy.

Consider the Israelites. Did they deviate? I think so. And in their deviance, they wandered. Thier example of a wandering people projects a profound image on the walls of the world so that we may understand the outcome of those who “wander” off the path, gravitate toward their personal goals and deviate from those God gave us. You’re aimless (though you think you’ve got your best interest in mind). Your puruits are not only trivial, they are fickle. There one day, gone the next. You lose sight of them, forget your destination and you progress aimlessly.

But the pursuit toward God-given goals is steady. It’s sure. It’s tiring, yes. But the reward is worth the pain and exhaustion you encounter on the Way.