Burn the ships!

"Our ancestors were unwilling to obey (Moses); instead, they pushed him aside and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, 'Make gods for us that will lead the way for us...'"

(Acts 7:39-40)

There's a great story about the Spanish conquistador Cortez who, in 1519, landed in South America in search for Aztec gold. Upon arrival on the foreign shores, he intentionally burned all of his ships so his soldiers would have no choice but to move forward. "No turning back!" All eyes and hearts now focused on the goal.

In the book of Acts there's a story of Stephen giving a recitation of Israel's "salvation history" (How God has moved through time for them). When talking about the Exodus (and the period afterwards), Stephen noted that the Israelites "in their hearts turned back to Egypt" when Moses was on Mount Sinai, and they asked Aaron to build a golden calf.

I loved that expression when I read it today. How often do we do the very same thing? We "turn back" to Egypt in our hearts when we intentionally do (or think) things that undermine our faith -- or our relationships and commitments to God and others. We don't even have to actually DO anything negative... just thinking it (or fantasizing about it) leads us away form where we (and our hearts) need to be.

Burn the ships.

Don't turn back to Egypt.

Focus on the things that we know God would want us to be focusing on... so our minds and hearts will be healthy and whole!