I’d take the narrow path if I could find a broader way

Yogi Berra once said: “When You Come to a Fork in the Road” providing us with a sense of bemusement and a source of laughter ever since. I believe his intention was that when there is a new path that lead away from the one upon which we are currently travelling we should take it without hesitation. We imagine in our minds, however, a perfect “Y” shaped deviation in the pathway that offers little distinction as to which is the actual road we are on, and which is the new direction.

It would be great if we could take both paths, as Yogi inadvertently suggested. It would be wonderful if, to take this journey in a slightly different direction, have our cake and eat it too. Choices, however, must be made. There is a clear distinction between right and wrong. There is a narrow path that leads in the right direction and a broader one that leads us astray. It is a biblical metaphor. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus is quoted as saying “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” It is an argument that is intended to guide people of faith towards right behaviour and attitude, actions and choices that please God and open the doorway to heaven.

The concept Jesus espouses has broader ramifications as well. It speaks to a truth that does not necessarily include God or Jesus. While my path is one that follows Christ’s lead, the distinction between the broad road that leads to destruction and the narrow path that leads to success can speak to all of us, believers or not.

Our physical world is dictated by laws that are beyond argument. This is the world of gravity and atomic particles and post-Newtonian physics that define all that is within the universe and how it behaves. Our moral and spiritual world is dictated by other laws, laws that have been derived from religion, society and our own feelings. These laws, or ethical standards, or morality, help us live together and carve out our own niche in the world. At their best they protect the weak, provide for the needy and enable us to live joyful, fulfilling lives that do not harm or negatively impact others in pursuit of the same end.

This governance of behaviour for the mutual good is the narrow path, the way that benefits us all. It sets clear limits on our behaviour; it determines how we interact with one another, what we are to do with our wealth, material goods and blessings, and what to do when we defy or forget to follow the rules. Taking this narrow way implies several things. First and foremost it suggests that the only way we can be truly free is by accepting that there is a code of conduct that is beneficial to all only if all agree to conduct themselves according to the same code. Author C. S. Lewis argued that responsibility is the road to freedom. Responsibility is the narrow path that tells us our actions matter; it calls us to consider everything we do, say and are not only for our own benefit, but for the benefit of others. While not all of our actions might be of direct benefit to our neighbours, they must, at the least, not be harmful to anyone, including ourselves. This is the narrow path.

The broader way is the one that is, at the least, thoughtless and has no concern for oneself; at its worse it is self-seeking and self-serving at the expense of others. It is also the way that seems, at first glance, both the easiest and the one that leads to the greatest fun and best ends. The funny thing about he broader way is that it starts on the straight and narrow but, like the road to heck that is paved with good intentions, gradually widens and wanders far from a healthy or safe direction. We start fully intending to get to a place that is good but distractions, diversions and inattention slowly and perniciously lead us astray.

It starts simply enough: a little lie to cover a mistake; a little cheating to cover a mistake; perhaps a little pushing and shoving to get our own way. Of course, it’s not the normal way we operate. We make excuses for the exceptions, for the things that we do to help ourselves at the expense of, or with complete disregard for, others, and justify in our own minds the little detours from the right path. But what is the except can quickly become the norm. When we repeatedly sneak in little things, when over and over again we bend the rules in our favour, even just a little bit, the boarders of the narrow path slowly widen and eventually we start taking the broader way.

The narrow path seems to pale in comparison to the broader way. It offers fewer exceptions and never gives up on the rules. Rather than bending to what seems convenient or expedient it accepts that the inconvenience is only a perception, that the long lasting, if far off reward of doing what is right is far better than the short term joy of straying off the straight and narrow. When we realize, however, that doing the right thing provides far more satisfaction over time, when the feeling of fulfillment and personal richness of knowing that we’ve been a source of far more joy and good than of pain and sorrow grows within us, then the virtue of the narrow path become more evident and the broader way is seen for the litter strewn, ugly route that it really is. The road to to the hot, uncomfortable place, the broader way that seems fun at first glance, is indeed paved with good intentions; the narrow path, on the other hand, is paved with discipline, love and good intentions lived out loud.