Book Review: The Principle of the Path
Listened to on 3/18/2010
The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley
Even though I listen to him a lot and love his teaching about leadership, I have never read an Andy Stanley book before (believe it or not). I was ready to get into it! Stanley has a great way of bringing out the depth of God’s Word and applying it to leadership and in this case, any aspect of life. The Principle of the Path is this:
Direction—Not Intention—Determines Our Destination
This principle is the basis for the entire book. A principle is something that just “is”. Archimedes principle states that the buoyant force on a submerged object is equal to the weight of the fluid that is displaced by the object. And whether you understand that or not, it applies to you when you are in water (even if you do not float :-). The principle of the path affects you everyday of your life. If you make a decision to purchase a used car with cash, but you go to the dealer and in the emotion of the moment, you get talked into a new car with payments for 72 months, you chose your direction. So, your path will consist of a burden of payments and debt and you living above your means. Which, then leads to more bad financial decisions because that is your “path” you have chosen. Destination=financial ruin.
This is just one example in the “real life” setting, but what about the biblical basis for this? In 1 Samuel 23, David was running from Saul. After a tough battle, Saul and his men were resting when he got word that David was nearby. So, he went after him. During the search the Bible tells us that Saul had to “relieve himself”, so he went in a cave. This cave happened to be where David was hiding. David knew Saul was hunting him down and Saul had already tried to kill him more than once. Here was his chance. God had delivered Saul into his hands. David’s men could just see themselves at the right had of King David in the near future. So David crept up to Saul and took out his knife and cut a piece of Saul’s cloak! He didn’t kill him, he spared him…why?!
David was a warrior, he had seen a lot of blood in his time. Instead of going in for the kill, he decided to claim the promise that God would deliver the kingship to him. David would not have to do anything, but be a man of God. David kept his cool under the intense emotional pressure. The thought may have gone through his head “well, it’s against the law to kill the king, would this be what God wants?” Think about that! The pride and rooting for the underdog mindset that we have sometimes makes us overlook what is right in God’s eyes. If David was going to be a great king, it would be a very bad start of his reign to break a law of God right off the bat. He chose a path, a direction, his attention was focused on what was right in God’s eyes. That is the last point…attention.
Attention determines direction. What are you focused on? What is distracting you from that focus? Whether you choose to keep you eyes on the path or the distractions on the left or right, THIS WILL DETERMINE YOUR DIRECTION. Whatever you pay attention to, this will determine your direction and eventually your destination.
A lot of this information is expanded WAY more in the book. I urge you to get it or listen to it. This principle is nothing new or profound, really. Sometimes we need some new packaging or a fresh coat of paint, if you will, to have a new or fresh understanding.
-AOD
