Don’t Muddy The Waters

I had a great time recently catching up with special people who were also High School classmates; some as far back as Elementary and Junior High. As we discussed how things have changed, one story prompted two spiritual analogies.

In Junior High, after practice, the water the football players got came from a stream that ran near the field. They would run and start gulping, but inevitably a younger player would make the mistake of stepping in the water upstream. They would thirstily watch and wait for the mud to clear before diving back in to hydrate.

First, this gives us a spiritual analogy of thirsty sheep drinking from clear water until a church allows false teaching to come in. It muddies the waters as the clarity of truth is clouded. Progressive Christianity does this.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching,

but having itching ears

they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

and will turn away from listening to the truth

and wander off into myths.”

2 Timothy 4:3-4

Believers are to guard truth. Churches that are allowing teaching that doesn’t line up with the Bible are muddying the waters and robbing the sheep of Living Water.

Second, it convicted me to ask the Lord if there’s anything I’m doing now that will cause “muddying” downstream in the future. Lord, guard my steps and keep my path pure!

“Ponder the path of your feet;

then all your ways will be sure.”

Proverbs 4:26

Walking in God’s ways is always worth it, and keeps us from bringing harm and confusion to ourselves and others. Lord, lead!