有些體育館會根據星期幾來安排使用跑道的方向。那天是星期二，我家附近的體育館規定人們應以順時針方向使用跑道。起初，我妻子與第一批健走的人都遵守規定。但後來，有個人以逆時針方向行走，接著她的幾個朋友也跟著她，然後有好些人也跟著逆向而行。突然間，跑道上一片混亂，大家花了好幾分鐘才恢復秩序。

雖然那些走錯方向的人並無惡意，但我卻忍不住想到影響力的強大。一個人走錯了方向，接著會有另一個人跟隨，然後影響更多人。這就像箴言13章20節說：「與智慧人同行的，必得智慧；和愚昧人作伴的，必受虧損。」跟隨那走錯路的人，最終只會陷入困境。

在加拉太書5章，保羅指出這樣的錯誤會阻礙我們的靈命成長。他寫道：「你們向來跑得好，有誰攔阻你們，叫你們不順從真理呢？這樣的勸導不是出於那召你們的」（7-8節）。上帝渴望我們順服祂，絕不會引導我們遠離真理，也不會「攪擾」我們（10節）。但那些抵擋上帝真理的人，會使我們偏離方向，阻礙我們與上帝同行的腳步。

上帝願意成為我們的引導。當我們與祂同行，就永遠不會走錯方向，誤入歧途。

It was Tuesday at the gym, so the people walking around the track were supposed to go clockwise. The first walkers my wife joined were doing that. But then another person walked onto the track going counterclockwise. A couple of her friends joined her—and then another. Suddenly there was chaos on the track—and it took a few minutes to restore order.

While the wrong-way walkers intended no harm, I couldn’t help but think about the power of influence. One person headed the wrong way leads to another, and on it goes. It’s a bit like Proverbs 13:20: “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Following a person going the wrong way leads to trouble.

In Galatians 5, Paul explains how such a mistake can halt our spiritual progress. “You were running a good race,” he says. “Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you” (vv. 7-8). God, who desires obedience, never leads us away from truth and “into confusion” (v. 10). But those who oppose His truth can hamper our spiritual walk by redirecting us from Him.

God wants to be our guide. When we walk with Him, we’ll never wander in the wrong direction.