The race to hell is one that seems to be gaining traction as people are intent on proving they can live their lives their way without any moral compass or belief system. The reasoning is I am the one who determines how I live my life. I am the one who decides what is right and what is wrong.
This all sounds so good, doesn’t it? Yet, we all know in our hearts this is simply not true.
There is right and there is wrong. The problem is, it only seems to matter when what I am doing or not doing is challenged by someone else.
In the song by the band AC/DC called, “Highway to Hell” the lyrics say, “Living easy, lovin' free, season ticket on a one-way ride. Asking nothing, leave me be. Taking everythin' in my stride.” I believe these words speak loudly to our desire to be left alone and to live life on our terms.
I espouse this point of view in a lot of ways. I am looking for freedom to live my life as I choose just like most people. However, I do believe a life that is carefree and unrestrained also has a cost. We are seeing this unfold all around us today as hatred, crime and debauchery are running wild.
It certainly appears we are on the “highway to hell” as a nation and world and nothing is going to slow us down.
Many resist a system they feel is rigged against them; Having grown up with a very independent and equally rebellious spirit. I often pushed against authority. When I did, I always believed it was for all the right reasons.
As I have moved into the fourth quarter of life, I have come to recognize the “highway to hell” is not the road I want to take. In fact, I have come to realize it takes a lot more independence and rebelliousness to push against the current trends than it does to follow them.
The idea that freedom means there are no rules, and anything goes is not only unrealistic, but also destructive in every way. The lack of judgment demonstrated by those who are pursuing this lifestyle is only eclipsed by the arrogance with which they are doing it.
The willingness to ignore the need for truth and grace is one that leads us down the road I am referring to. The hatred and vitriol associated with this cry for individuality points directly to the need for this same truth and grace which can only be found by looking upward to a God who has blessed us with the ability to think and choose for ourselves.
The problem seems to be the inability we see in people being able to do just that.
The “highway to hell” is certainly available to us all, but once you have arrived, I am afraid you are going to find, the closing lyrics are truer than you could have imagined. “And I am going down, all the way.”
My purpose in writing this is to help someone see a life of true freedom is found in Christ who wants more than anything to get us off the “highway to hell”.
The choice, however, is yours!
Matthew 13:47-50, ““Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So, it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
