The Moral Compass

THE BIBLE IS A COMPASS THAT POINTS TO GOD.

Bible Reading of the Day: Read Psalm 119:101-105.

Verse of the Day: “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105).

Amber and Ashley accompanied Dad on their monthly hike in the canyon near their house. They loved the rock formations and wildlife of the desert area around their home. Dad had just bought a new hiking stick and had been looking forward to taking it along on this hike.

They had walked for almost an hour when Dad stopped and rested on a rock. He took a drink of water from the plastic bottle that hung from his belt. Amber and Ashley drank from their water bottles, too. After a few restful moments, Dad nudged Ashley, who sat next to him on the rock.

“1 want to show you something,” he said. He unscrewed the top of his walking stick to reveal a compass with a glass face.

“Wow!” Ashley said. “What is it?”

“It’s a compass,” Amber answered in a disgusted tone. Ashley was four years younger than she was.

“What’s it for?” Ashley asked.

“It tells us which direction to go,” Dad said. He held the stick between his two daughters. “The needle always points north, so if we get turned around in the canyons we can always find our way home.”

“Are we lost, Daddy?” Ashley asked.

“No,” Dad answered, smiling. “But I showed it to you because I wanted to tell you about another compass, a compass that doesn’t show the difference between north and south but between right and wrong.”

Both girls listened carefully as Dad continued. “You see, girls, people can get turned around in life—just like we can get turned around in the canyon—and sometimes they forget which way is right and which way is wrong.”

“But you don’t, do you, Dad?” Amber suggested.

“Oh, yes, I do,” Dad answered. “But I always know where to get the right direction.” He paused. “From the Bible.” He tapped the compass on the end of his walking stick. “Just like this compass always shows me the right direction because it always points north, the Bible shows me the right direction because it points to God.” Dad screwed the top back on his walking stick and stood. “It’s good to have a compass, isn’t it, Daddy?” Ashley asked.

“Yes, Ashley, it sure is,” Dad answered. “It sure is.”

TO DISCUSS: How is the Bible like a compass? How is the Bible like a lamp? How does the Bible teach us right from wrong?

TO PRAY: “Lord, thank you for the Bible, which points to you. Help us to hide your Word in our heart, so that we won’t purposely sin against you.”