"Keep It Between the Ditches"   
 

by Eric Reynolds

“Keep it between the ditches,” Grindaddy used to say as I pulled out of the driveway. As a teenager, I ended up in more ditches than I’d like to recall.

Very often, in life, there are ditches on both sides of the road. The more I study the Bible, the more I find this to be true in spiritual matters as well. Veer too far to the right or the left, and you’re in trouble. Consider a couple of examples.

Grace vs. Works:

In one ditch is the idea that since we are saved by God’s grace, what we do doesn’t matter. Obedience is good, and sin is bad, but neither are connected to one’s salvation. Open to pretty much any page of the Scriptures, and you’ll find this idea refuted. (1 John 4:4 will suffice.)

On the other side of the road is the ditch that says “it’s all up to you!” You can only be saved if you have perfect understanding and perfect obedience. Again, from cover to cover the Bible is full of examples of people of faith who were pleasing to God, and yet only One was perfectly sinless. (1 John 1:8)

The truth is between the ditches, our salvation is not of our own doing, and yet obedience and sanctification are essential. These two ideas are in tension, and defining exactly how they interact and where the boundaries are is not easy. The road is not necessarily marked with thick, solid yellow lines on either side.

Judging vs. Rescuing:

On one side of the road is the ditch of “every man for himself.” It’s not your place to say that someone else is wrong or in the wrong. Everyone should mind their own business and see to themselves and leave others alone to make their own choices and find their own way. The problem with this ditch, however popular it may be, is that we are, in fact, “our brother’s keeper.” Not only duty but love demands that we speak up when someone is veering off course. (James 5:19-20.)

The opposite ditch is trap of being judgmental. In this ditch, it becomes my business and duty to examine, critique, and point out every perceived flaw in everyone around me, even in matters of opinion. Jesus himself, as well as Paul and James, specifically instruct us that we are not to take God’s place as Judge over each other. (Matt. 7, Rom. 14, 1 Cor. 4, James 3:12).

Staying between the ditches requires first and foremost judging myself and working on the logs in my own eye, but also having the compassion and concern to help my brother with his problems (Matt. 7). We also must have the courage and boldness to speak up when a brother is caught up in sin, yet doing so with gentleness (Gal. 6:1). And we also have to be okay with brethren having different opinions from ours, recognizing that we are fellow servants and not the Judge.

This “keep it between the ditches” principle applies to other Biblical issues as well. We can avoid crashing by watching the Scriptural warning signs carefully. If we find ourselves latching onto one Scriptural principle and ignore those that provide a counterbalance, we are sure to swerve off course. We must embrace all that the Lord reveals, which will shine a bright light on the true and safe course.

 

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