GPS

I have heard Christians talk about GPS (God’s Positioning System) in several ways. CBN had a great article http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/Devotions/mclean_gps.aspx

But this week, God’s Positioning System appeared when I was speaking to a good friend who’s looking at the world through different eyes. She sees that the world is changing. Things that didn’t used to be acceptable are now the norm and lines between right or wrong have been blurred. 

I try to see things analytically and I typically use science along with a healthy dose of my faith to find answers. 

I think it’s all a matter of GPS. 

God gave us a conscience and that’s our internal GPS. He gave us an unwavering little voice in our heart that knows what is right and what is wrong. Some would argue that all those tendencies are taught. But I would disagree.  Even the smallest of children understand the idea of fairness and that hurting someone is wrong. They may lash out in anger, but they blush when called on it. 

So there’s something “built in.” It comes naturally. We can even see it in movies and literature. We cheer with the hero when he makes a valiant effort to save someone (because we innately know the value of life) and we mourn with them when they make destructive decisions (that usually take them away from their path to success or happiness). It isn’t something we’re taught. It’s innate. 

Science has its own idea of conscience and the fields of psychology and psychiatry are testaments to it. However, they exclude the idea that there’s a God because it’s a “science.” Once again, if we would just marry the idea that science and faith belong together we could see “conscience” in a whole different light. (BTW: These two fields do have ethics policies… where those ethics come from?)

So why do we feel that black and white has turned to gray? Perhaps we see that we’ve stopped following the little voice inside that tell us what is wrong and what is right. Instead, we tell ourselves to ignore it and just “do what is best for me.” Which typically starts out great then tapers off. Those things we thought were best end up creating unhappiness. Unhappiness leads us down two different roads. Justification and/or denial. 

Justification is rampant when “celebrating” the compromises we think will make us happy. Hey, if I make bad choices, you can too! As a matter of fact I appreciate your rotten choice because it makes me feel better about myself.

Denial is different. When we are unhappy, denial drives us to turn to something to comfort or fulfill us. Those "comforts" deceive us into thinking that they are helping, when really all they are doing is squelching the voice of truth inside. Denial comes in many forms: gambling, drugs, overeating, excess shopping, too much time on video games or the internet, sex addictions, etc. All provide temporary relief but have negative long term effects. We usually end up more lost and more incomplete than when we started. 

What does this have to do with GPS? It’s all in the destination.

My car’s GPS has to have a destination. It has to have some place to go. When I’m tired or when I’m finished I tell it to “Go Home.”

It’s no different with our internal GPS. “Home” is that hole in your heart, that need for what you are lacking. God created us with that longing. It’s a longing for Him, for Home, for Heaven. That longing cannot be filled by someone or by something. In the end, it is all transient. Life is short. But there is more…and for some reason, we internally grasp that there is more than this life. Why? Internal GPS.

We have choices with GPS. We can follow our own directions (or as my car’s GPS says, “recalculating”) or we can follow the direct route. There’s no doubt I’ve taken many of my own routes, detours and dead ends. But the times when I’ve been truly happy, is when I listen to my internal GPS. 

God’s got my back if I will let Him. In fact, He left instructions in my GPS.