About 4 years ago, a sophomore in high school asked me what was so bad about him wanting to drink alcohol, especially if he can be responsible. This question often comes up in youth ministry, everything from alcohol, to sex and drugs, more so marijuana. I knew that he was expecting me to talk about the negative reasons why not to, but I asked him one simple question, “Who is your final authority?’ Surprisingly, he didn’t have to think long about the question and immediately answered “God!’ I asked him what God say’s and pointed him to Romans 13, where Paul tells us to obey the law of the land and if God is his final authority, then his answer lies in what he believes about God.

This is a question I have been asking a lot lately of our students and it’s one that I ask of you. Who is your final authority? Another way to put it is, who is the determining or deciding voice in your life that drives you to make the decisions and choices that you make?

All our life we have been making decisions that directly effect the path we are taking and the outcome of situations that we find ourselves. John writes in chapter 16:13 of his gospel, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” Of the many truths that exist within the text, the one that applies to the direction of this blog is that the Holy Spirit is our guide. He only speaks what hears from the Father. The Holy Spirit is the determining voice in our life. The Lord speaks to us through His word, the church, prayer, and circumstances by way of the Holy Spirit.

As long as we allow the media, social networking, books, friends and family to be the determining voice in our life, we will always drift away from the truths of God, we will walk on wide paths that lead to destruction and effect many others close to us and far. Look no further than Genesis 2 when God gave the command to Adam, “ you are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Yet, the voice that Adam chose to listen to in Genesis 3 was the voice of deception, of what was easy and desirable, and the path is death. Who did his decision effect, all of us!

So as you read this, this morning, today, or tonight, ask yourself, who is the determining voice in my life, who am I influenced by, and where is it leading me, “for narrow is the path that leads to life and few find it.” Matthew 7:14.