“Stay in your lane.” These words were once driving instructions. Now people use them in organizations to encourage others to do their work but not get too involved in the work of others. Our own lane is a safe place to drive and live.
Uzziah did well in his own lane. As a young king, he wisely sought instruction from the priest Zechariah. This served Uzziah well. He was successful in building new buildings and defeating Israel’s enemies. But when he became powerful, Uzziah became proud.
For every person who can handle success, there may be ten who can deal with adversity. Pride went before Uzziah’s fall. One day he thought, “If I can be king, I should be able to be a priest as well.” Priests tried to warn him to stay in his lane. Instead, he persisted in his pride and ended up with leprosy.
A friend of mine once described a formerly famous pastor. He said, “I heard he was a great man of God. But when I met him years after his fall, he was just a shell of that reputation. I couldn’t tell that he had ever been close to God.”
The writer of Hebrews reminds us to run the race marked out for us by fixing our eyes on Jesus. Jesus gave us our start and he will help us finish. It turns out he can keep us in the correct lane, if we will follow him.
