At Yellowstone National Park’s West Thumb Geyser Basin, you’ll see all sorts of hot springs, geysers, and pools. With names like Blue Funnel, Abyss, Perforated Pool, and Percolating Spring, these pools are bright blue with rainbow edges.
As much as you’d like to explore these up close, signs everywhere warn you to stay on the boardwalk. That’s because throughout Yellowstone, people have died because they left the path.
The pools look so warm that you want to jump in for a swim, but the temperature can get so hot that the water is almost boiling. You’d suffer horrible burns or even die just by falling in there. Walking to the pool could hurt you too. Though the ground may look solid, it is simply a crust. If you step on it, you could break through and be burned by the scalding hot water underneath. That’s why they have the walkway. It saves lives.
Sin works the same way as those inviting pools. Sometimes it looks warm, like it would be fun to dip your toe in and take a swim. It feels good to give in to your anger and hit someone. Sometimes it feels good to put others down. Maybe it feels good to get an A, even though you got it by cheating. But sin should actually make you afraid. “Blessed is the one who is always fearful of sin, but whoever is hard-hearted falls into disaster” (Proverbs 28:14).
That’s why God tells you to stay on his walkway, follow his guidance. He will get you safely through the dangerous areas of life. “You will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way. Follow it, whether it turns to the right or to the left’” (Isaiah 30:21).
Stay on the path.
