When ‘Stay in your lane!’ is a life-giving warning, not a reprimand
By Dean Collins
Every new driver learns the importance of staying in the proper lane. Otherwise, the car may veer into another car or hazard. Lanes keep us safe. There are permissible times and ways to change lanes, and when we follow those rules we are able to safely continue in a new lane. “Stay in your lane!” Sometimes it’s a reprimand. Other times the words are life-giving advice.
Prosperous, then afflicted
This thought came to me as I was reading 2 Chronicles 26 this morning. It tells of Zechariah, influential in Uzziah’s earlier years as king. The young king listened to the prophet and followed in the ways of the Lord. As a result, the king and the people prospered. The king built lots of infrastructure that benefited everyone. Farmers prospered. God gave Uzziah favor in the development of his army. But then his success started going to his head. The king’s fame and strength stirred pride in his heart. And like King Saul, he decided he could change lanes to do things only the priests of God were allowed to do.
Azariah the priest followed King Uzziah into the temple along with eighty more priests. Azariah and the priests tried to correct the king. It was for his own good. But the proud king didn’t stay in his lane. He got angry at the priests for correcting him. And as his temper grew, his forehead was suddenly covered with leprosy. The Lord struck him, and he remained a leper until his death. According to various scholars, Uzziah was 58 when his pride got the best of him. This wasn’t the sin of a young and experienced leader. This was a failure late in the king’s career.
Acting alone, veering off course
I’ve seen a lot of young people overstep and get out of their given roles. It’s a good thing to do your job and then offer to help by doing extra work. But it’s a different thing to jump into other people’s responsibilities without discussion and assume you can handle them. Maybe you can, but often you can’t. Of course, older folks can make the same mistakes. In the case of the king, he stepped out of his lane and assumed it would be okay to do what God did not permit. Another familiar phrase might be appropriate here. He was way over his pay grade!
Those of us who are a little older should take note. Pride can creep in if we are not careful. It is critical to have other believers close by, to help you assess your spiritual health. Otherwise, it is easy to gradually or possibly lazily drift out of your lane and into lanes filled with lots of traffic. A collision is likely with a moral failure, with legalism, or as in the case of Uzziah, with pride. There are so many guardrails to guide us and to protect us against this problem: in Scripture, in prayer, and in community.
Uzziah was enraged when the assembly of priests acted to protect and correct him. Pride led him to a fall. His later years were empty, and loneliness filled his life until his death.
God’s path for you
Stay in your lane. It’s not a reprimand. It’s life-giving and leads not just to existence, but rather to abundance. God has not forgotten you. His path for you is better than you can imagine and leads all the way to his throne of grace, mercy, and love.
Your time with God’s Word
2 Chronicles 26:3-5, 7-11, 16-21 ESV
Photo by Vusal Ibadzade on Unsplash
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