I had a doctor appointment at St. Anthony’s Hospital. I’d never been there before, but I figured how hard can it be to find it since I have GPS?

I called the doctor’s office for directions, and also plotted in the name of the hospital in my car’s GPS.

I left in plenty of time just in case. Right at the start, the GPS tried to get me to go a strange route. So I ignored its directions at first. But after a while, the directions I’d gotten from the doctor’s office didn’t lead me to the hospital. So I decided to trust the GPS even though it seemed to lead me away from Lakewood.

I nervously watched my clock as I drove farther and farther away from Lakewood. I’m new to the Denver area, but even I knew that I was going east and north, and this couldn’t possibly be the right direction.

“In half a mile, turn right,” the GPS voice instructed.

In another quarter of a mile: “You have arrived at your destination.”

WHAT? I’d arrived at a small medical center called ST. Anthony’s.

“NO!” I yelled at my car. “You dumb GPS. This is not where I’m supposed to go!” I reached into my purse for my cell phone so I could call the doctor’s office.

No cell phone.”NOoooooooo!” I’d forgotten to put it back in my purse after re-charging it.

I had just over half an hour to correct my mistake and get to my appointment.

I entered “destination” in my GPS again. That’s when I discovered just how many St. Anthony’s there are in the Denver metro area.

Anyway, I re-plotted my destination and arrived in the nick of time at St. Anthony’s Hospital.

Modern technical machines are great to have. But they can only be as helpful as the human operating them. My GPS can’t reason that I’m new to Denver and I don’t know that there are about five St. Anthony’s within about ten miles.

A human, giving directions, would offer such helpful instructions, such as, “And watch for the tall, blue building on the left. You’ll turn a block after you pass it. And be sure to get in the right hand lane right away. if you come to Highway 6, you’ve gone too far.”

Fortunately, the instructions we read in the Bible for everyday living are tailored specifically for our human frailties, and our human understanding. The Lord who inspired our scriptures knows that we are not machines, and that our intellect only goes so far.

When He says:

“He who holds his tongue is wise.”

“The Lord abhors dishonest scales.”

“Do not murder.”

“Do not commit adultery.”

These are clear, unambiguous instructions. They will not lead me astray.

Praise God, He’s much clearer than a GPS!