Direction, Distance, Ratio/Proportion and Our Spiritual Course

Articles From Our Bulletins

Philip Strong
01/15/17 - Bulletin Articles

In high school, my father was “the” and therefore “my” Vocational Agriculture teacher. So, participation on various judging and Future Farmers of America competition teams was pretty much compulsory for me. Some of them I enjoyed, and others- well, let’s just say I participated with better than mediocre but less than enthusiastic effort. But I enjoyed being on the Forestry Team. I liked trekking through the woods and learning to identify various trees of East Texas. However, being on the Forestry Team also meant learning to run a compass course- and it intimidated (OK, “scared”) me a little. You were given a compass and a set of directions which required moving through the woods- briars, brambles, creeks and all, on a heading for a distance specified in hundreds of feet, then taking a subsequent compass heading for so many feet in a different direction, and so on until you arrived a pre-determined but not visibly marked destination. Thus, you were graded on accuracy- distance from the hidden stake. I had been in the woods all my life, and wasn’t at all afraid of getting lost, but those compass courses consisted of several different headings for various distances, so any error made was multiplied and exaggerated by subsequent moves. Being only a degree or two off on your initial heading meant that you could be a really long way off by the end of the course!

There were two key elements to the Forestry compass course: 1) the heading- as determined by degrees on the compass; and, 2) being able to accurately walk a specified distance (no tape measures or other devices were allowed for this part). Reading a compass was fairly straightforward, but being able to accurately step off a specified distance took practice. The way we learned to do this was pretty simple, but tedious. Dad got us out in the open field behind the Ag shop and measured and clearly marked two lines one hundred feet apart. Then, using a normal gate, we walked that distance dozens of times- counting our steps each time. The rule was also simple: you could quit walking when you could consistently traverse the distance in the same number of steps each time. It’s been some thirty-five plus years ago, but the best I can remember, one hundred feet was thirty-four steps for me then. There was, however, still one problem- none of the compass courses required you to step distances of exactly one hundred feet! You’d be required to go sixty-seven feet on a heading of fifty-four degrees, then one hundred and thirty-four feet on a heading of two hundred and thirty-one degrees, and then etc. etc. etc. So, to be able to accurately step the correct distances, you had to use mathematics- specifically, ratio and proportion calculations. Since you (presumably) knew how many steps it took you to go one hundred feet, using a ratio and proportion formula, you could fairly accurately estimate how many steps it would take you to cover any other given distance.

What has all of this to do with spiritual matters? There are a couple of comparative points to be made regarding the “spiritual course” of life:

Small errors in direction or distance are dramatically compounded in our spiritual course also. If we go “off course,” even in some way that we might consider “small,” and then proceed for a long while, or make several other subsequent “course adjustments” that were founded on the first deviation, we can wind up “missing the mark” of what God says by a really long way.Someone might object, “It really doesn’t matter what you believe/practice as long as you’re honest and sincere in it.”If such is true (and it patently is not, cf. Matthew 7:21!), then you might as well throw your Bible away. In compass and spiritual courses, errors have a way of compounding themselves, so do your best to stay on the course God has given each step of the way!
Being able to work “ratio and proportion” problems can keep you on the right spiritual course. Ratio and proportion (multiplying the known number of paces per 100 ft. by distance specified, then dividing by 100 to arrive at the number of paces per the distance specified) is a way of fairly accurate estimation.In spiritual course running, you also have to begin with the “known” and “specified” to be able to arrive at the “unknown” and “unspecified.”This means “running your course” based on what has been “specified” by God in His word (and therefore can be “known” (see 2Peter 1:3 and 2Timothy 3:16-17) to arrive at the “unknown” place of heaven, 2Corinthians 4:17-18 and 5:6-8.

In forestry compass courses or life, you can’t go off in any direction you want for any distance you want, and expect to arrive at the right destination. No “course” works that way. But here’s the good news: Once you realize your mistake, you can backtrack to the point of your error, correct it, get back on course, and still get to where you need to be. It may be difficult, and it requires finding, admitting, correcting your mistake, and trying again, but with God’s help, you can do it! And the even better news is that God is patient, longsuffering, willing and able to assist you, and waiting at the finish line with open arms! Paul encouraged Timothy (and all of us) along these lines, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but to all who have loved His appearing,” 2Timothy 4:7-8. Do the work. Finish the course. Keep the faith. God will help you.