Right and Wrong in 3-D

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:129-133

Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by any evil. Psalm 119:133

HAVE YOU EVER seen a 3-D picture or—better yet—a 3-D movie?

You know that you put on a pair of glasses with plastic or paper frames to watch a 3-D movie. Watching the movie through the glasses makes the movie screen seem three-dimensional, like real life. Not only that, sometimes things seem to “leap out” of the movie screen, right for your face! A train may race across the screen and seem as though it’s coming right out of the movie—and into your lap! A bird may be flying around, when suddenly it turns and seems to head straight for your nose! A ball may be thrown by someone in the movie, and it looks as though all you have to do is hold your hands up to catch it!

If you take the 3-D glasses off, of course, all you see is a flat—even slightly blurry-movie screen. The glasses bring the action alive. Without them, you lose the whole effect.

That’s sort of how reading God’s Word works for those who want to know right from wrong. Reading the Bible brings the action to life.

That’s because the Bible acts as a pair of 3-D glasses that make it easier to see and to know right from wrong. If you read the Bible every day, you’ll soon start to see things much more clearly than you would otherwise. If you don’t read the Bible regularly, you’ll probably still struggle to figure out right from wrong.

That’s why the psalmist prayed to God, “Your decrees are wonderful. No wonder I obey them! As your words are taught, they give light; even the simple can understand them… Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by any evil” (Psalm 119:129-130, 133).

If you really want to know right from wrong—if you really want to make right choices—read the Bible. It brings the real action to life.

REFLECT: Do you think you can make right choices consistently without knowing what’s right? Why or why not? Do you think you can know what’s right without knowing what the Bible says about right and wrong? Why or why not? Do you think reading the Bible can help you make right choices? If not, why not? If so, how?

ACT: If you’ve never developed the habit of reading the Bible every day, you can start by looking up the daily Bible readings in this devotional and reading them through at least once. That’s a good start!

PRAY: “Lord, help me to read your Word. Guide my steps by your Word so that I will not be overcome by any evil.”