Enter By The Narrow Gate

Matthew 7:13-14 tells us to “enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” If I were to ask you what Jesus meant by this scripture your response would probably be that of most people. Those who are following Jesus are entering through the narrow gate and those who are following the world are entering through the broad gate.

I would like to give you another interpretation of that scripture. Most of us have dreams and goals in our life that we would like to see accomplished. Whether it’s becoming debt free, owning your own home, fulfilling your God-given destiny or just being the best Father/Mother that you can be. All of these are great goals but where most people go wrong is that they think only about the end result. Never taking into consideration that there is a process in between reaching their goals.

When Jesus tells us to walk through the narrow gate he knew that reaching our dreams wasn't always going to be easy. He also knew that human nature loves instant gratification. We typically want the end result now, aborting the process and going straight for the prize. For example, lets just say that someone wants to get out of debt. If they were to enter by the narrow gate they would get on a budget, take any extra money that they had and put it towards their debt. Even getting an extra job if necessary. While entering through the broad gate only encourages you to do what everyone else does.

Taking out a second mortgage to pay off your debts, transferring all your credit card debt onto another credit card or just ignoring the debt altogether. Entering by the broad gate may solve your problem for the moment but in reality you are still in debt. However, entering by the narrow gate may take longer but it’s best in the long run. Not only will you completely eliminate the debt but it also builds character and instills a sense of accomplishment that you wouldn’t have got by following the crowd.

When you’ve worked hard getting out of debt you develop a new found respect for money and are less likely to get back into debt. While those who took the short cut almost always end up back in the same position. It also shows you that if you work hard you can achieve anything that you want out of life. The broad way tends to follow the masses doing what is comfortable and pleasing to the flesh for the moment. Only problem is it leaves your life in chaos full of broken dreams and shattered goals. Jesus strongly urged us to choose the narrow way to life. As painful as it may appear this road is always the best one to take.

-Richard