THE OLD PATH

The Old Path

Jeremiah 6:13–16 (ESV) — 13 “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. 14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. 15 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,” says the Lord. 16 Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. …’

They have lost the ability to blush. Faces no longer stained with the faint red marks of shame. They dance when they should mourn, laugh when they should weep, and prey when they should pray.

This is how civilizations die; not with nuclear bombs or economic collapse, but with the not-so-quiet death of shame. When a society can no longer distinguish between right and wrong, it should be of no surprise when wrong parades and right is punished. When leaders put band-aids on cancer and call it healing, tolerance, or freedom of choice, and when "peace, peace" is proclaimed while the house burns down, that society has chosen the new path.

The new path promises progress but delivers destruction. It celebrates what should horrify and mocks what should be honored. Its prophets are pushers, dealing comfortable lies to a people desperate to avoid hard truths. To acknowledge truth is to embrace the admission of having a problem, of being sick, of being broken. Too much.

But there is an old path. Don’t be fooled. Its age shouldn’t lead to the conclusion that it’s no longer useful, no longer relevant, no longer viable. On the contrary, its age holds its secrets. Secrets found only in those who have seen, experienced, and triumphed over time. The old path exists because it has stood the test of time and trial, and it remains.

You can’t find the old path by sticking with the new way; they lead in two opposite directions.

Four steps are demanded:

Stand. Look. Ask. Walk.

1. Stand at the crossroads and refuse to be swept along by the crowd rushing toward the cliff.

2. Look at where each path leads…not where it promises to go, but where it actually ends.

3. Ask for the ancient ways…the tested wisdom that built civilizations rather than buried them.

4. Walk in it, even when the culture calls you backward, even when the others choose the wide road.

   
   

MAKE NO MISTAKE!

The old path doesn't promise easy. It promises true.

It doesn't offer false peace. It offers rest for your soul.

The watchmen are sounding the alarm. The question isn't whether you can hear the trumpet—it's whether you'll listen.

We are at a crossroads...not for the first time, not for the last time, but a crossroads, nonetheless. But the old path remains, worn smooth by the feet of those who chose wisdom over comfort, truth over applause, character over convenience, and most importantly, God’s ways instead of our own.

The people in Jeremiah’s day gave their answer

... ... But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” (Jeremiah 6:16, ESV)

What say you?