Have you ever had the experience of having your mind racing? This is the last step before panic. Is this the way you do your best thinking? This is a race you cannot win, and it doesn’t lend itself to good decisions. Yet do you find it hard to avoid going there in stressful situations? These are not situations that make peaceful reflection easy, but you will make better decisions if you can. There is a peace that is the expected consequence of placid conditions, but if you can experience peace in the midst of turmoil it is the peace that surpasses understanding and this is the peace I give you. 

I have called you to walk on the strait and narrow way that leads to life. Does this imply no course corrections? Consider the analogy of driving a car or riding a bicycle on a straight road. Do you do this by locking the steering wheel or handle bars? You know from experience that this would not work, and it doesn’t have to. Even when you are riding or driving in a straight line steering is required. Do you ever hear my voice bringing you back to center when you stray to the left or right? You should think of this as normal and expect it. You can trust me to guide you on the strait and narrow way that leads to life.

Do you avoid the use of vulgar and profane language? Have you noticed that not everyone does? Blessed is he who understands the power of words, and as a result orders his conversation aright, speaking words of truth in the King’s English. How do you respond to those who do not? In most cases you can discern what they mean even if you would phrase it differently. You can graciously hear what people have to say without judging them for their terms or using them yourself. Often such language is used without hostile or malicious intent and if you have ears to hear you can listen to the intended message.

I told my disciples to do and to teach all that I had commanded them. Does this require you to point out to people the error of their ways? Yet I also told you not to judge others. How can you correct without being critical? How can you judge without being judgmental? The default operating mode of most people is to attach judgment to observation. Therefore you don’t have to make a deliberate effort to do this. You have to make a deliberate effort not to. Can you point out where someone has gone astray without proceeding to condemnation? I did. The gospel is meant to be a message of life and hope. It really is good news. If you have received this good news and been transformed by it then present it in such a way that it will have the same effect on others.