Shortcuts

"My child, listen to me and do as I say,
and you will have a long, good life.
I will teach you wisdom's ways
and lead you in straight paths.
When you walk, you won't be held back;
when you run, you won't stumble.
Take hold of my instructions; don't let them go.
Guard them, for they are the key to life."

Proverbs 4:10–13

There are no shortcuts in life. 

As a high school math teacher, I teach advanced concepts that build upon each other.  The courses I teach prepare my students for the next advanced math courses they will take .  As I teach mathematical concepts, I sometimes find that students are lacking in rudimentary math skills.  For example, many of these advanced math students struggle when working with fractions. They cannot remember the rules for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and even dividing fractions.  Why is this important?  First of all, because fractions are a part of our daily lives.  And secondly,  if they are unable to work with basic numerical fractions, then they will certainly struggle when it comes to working with rational expressions and equations (i.e. fractions that have numbers and VARIABLES in them)! 

My students often search for shortcuts to the problems we work.  Always looking for the easiest way out of the problems.  Sometimes in doing so, they miss out on important concepts that are learned in working through the problem.  And later on, when those key concepts they missed out on are applied to a more advanced topic, they end up confused and lost...and often missing the problem on a test. 

While it is good to be as efficient as possible, sometimes the shortcuts in math are to the disadvantage of the student later on in their mathematical career.  Instead of learning the concept correctly so that they can apply it correctly, they reach for a calculator or some other quick and easy method. In doing so, students don't learn the 'why' of what they are doing.  They are cheating themselves of mathematical wisdom that will help them later on in future math courses.  These shortcuts only satisfy the pressure of the moment to get the grade and pass the test.  These shortcuts do not stand the test of time.  And they can sometimes lead to students having to struggle more in later classes to understand topics that have built upon that knowlege.

However, those students who take the time to actually work through the problems - those who have the tenacity and the patience to struggle through learning the hard concepts instead of looking to a calculator or a shortcut, often have the most mathematical success in the long run. 

But yet how often do I myself look for the shortcuts in life.  And, thinking I've found one, followed it only to end up in a worse state that the one in which I began.  How often do we in our own lives shortcut what God has planned, only to find we've 'missed the turn' and ended up lost and heading in the wrong direction.  How often have we stubbornly thought our way was better, ignoring God's wisdom, thinking we had found the quick and easy way out.  Had we only stayed the course, listened to godly wisdom, we would have ended up in a better position.  Even if the shortcut causes no harm, it may cheat us out of a lesson or experience that we or others could have benefited from.

Godly wisdom is a treasure, not only to us, but to those in our lives as well. We do everyone a favor when we follow God's wisdom. Shortcuts do not always lead us down the better road.  But if we follow godly wisdom, though we may stumble, we will not fall.

Seek Him today.  Read His Word.  Pray.  And commit yourself to following Christ each and every day.  His Holy Spirit will guide you with godly wisdom.

Peace and love!
Cathy