Proverbs 4:14-15
Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

Life is not usually a journey down a path marked with clear signs that say “good” or “evil,” “right” or “wrong.” When we come to a hypothetical fork in the road, there is not a flashing sign to warn us of evil ahead. But sometimes it’s easy to know which way is good and which way is evil. Sometimes there really is a clear line, an unmistakable mark. When we know that a path is evil, the Bible is clear about what we should do—stay away. We shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking we can get close without crossing over. Once we get there, it’s all too easy to take one more step into the wrong road.

Unfortunately, Satan will try to make his road as appealing and accessible as possible. It’s not going to be surrounded by a barbed-wire fence with a gate shut and locked tight. There will not be signs proclaiming the danger ahead. Instead, Satan will do anything to draw us down his road. But through the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we study God’s Word and grow in our relationship with Him, we will be more able to recognize which is the right road and which is the wrong one.

Once we know the wrong road, the best thing to do is to avoid it altogether. We must make a purposeful decision in our hearts to take the long way around and not take the shortcut through unrighteousness. Our path should be the high road of truth and integrity, not the low path of debauchery and sin. We must plan our route through life so that we don’t need to pass by those tempting lanes and not even allow them to be roadside sights on our journey. The safest and best course is to pass far, far away from the path of evil.

Sometimes, though, despite our best intentions, we end up on the wrong road. Perhaps we wandered there through ignorance and got lost. Maybe we weren’t being diligent enough and took a wrong turn. Perhaps in a moment of weakness we sought out Satan’s road to sin. Maybe we took our eyes off the Lord and followed someone else to this dangerous place. But when the light shines upon us, when the Spirit convicts us and we see where we’ve ended up, we can always turn and retrace our steps back to the right road.

Let’s heed the warning signs of the Word of God and obey the “keep out” signs that God has posted for our benefit. He hates the ways of the wicked, and we should, as well. And because of that, we should try our best to always follow the right path that God would have us to take. If we remain far from the evil road, we can spare ourselves many troubles on our journey.