When a person is first learning to drive an automobile, he often tends to overlook traffic signs. He may come to an intersection, but be too preoccupied with the mechanics of his newly discovered driving skills to even notice a stop sign. At another place, he may fail to yield to oncoming traffic. Such mistakes are understandable for a beginner. But if they are not quickly corrected, they can cost the driver his own life or the lives of others. Surely all of us would be glad if the person teaching us to drive would point out such errors. If he or she would neglect to do this, we would develop some very dangerous habits.

The same is true in the spiritual life. Often we fail to pause in God’s presence, to seek His guidance. And few in this world are willing to yield to Him. But these are life-saving habits, and we should be grateful to those who instruct us to watch for and respect the Lord’s signals.

In this life, there are basically only two ways to go. It is like coming to a T-shaped intersection and wondering which is the correct way to turn. One way will bring us closer to our destination. To go the opposite way would mean that we will eventually have to backtrack. No one likes to have to do that, and some even persist in going south when they really need to go north, just to pretend that they are not really going the wrong way. Such is the folly of human pride.

The wrong direction sometimes feels a little wrong—for example, we may notice that the sun is not where it ought to be if we were supposed to be heading west in the afternoon.

But other times, things may seem perfectly normal—even comfortable. In the spiritual sense, we are told that “there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 16:25.

So, how can we choose the right way? Isaiah 30:21 assures us that if we really want to do what is right, “thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” Our conscience will guide us aright, as we continually educate it in right principles. “Conscience is the voice of God, heard amid the conflict of human passions; when it is resisted, the Spirit of God is grieved.”—The Faith I Live By, p. 58.

If the Spirit of God is persistently grieved, we end up in a downward spiral that leads to degradation and death. That is the wrong way to go.

So, we are encouraged to enter in “at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:13, 14. Dear young people, let us determine to be among those few who find and follow the right way. Then we will never have to face regrets or backtrack our steps. And we will certainly be glad for that!