Well, here we are, about to step over the threshold into yet another new year. The old one’s pretty much done and dusted, consigned into the catalogue of years gone by. The new one is about to begin. So allow me, if you will, to ask you an important question. As you step into next year, which path will you take? The high road or the low road?

In 44 BC, Marcus Junius Brutus stood in the shadows of the Roman Senate, dagger in hand. Julius Caesar—his mentor and friend—walked unknowingly into the trap. Brutus believed that he was saving the Republic. But in choosing betrayal over dialogue, murder over mercy, he unleashed chaos.

Rome didn’t return to freedom—instead, it spiralled into a brutal empire. Civil war ensued. Brutus died by his own hand. His name is etched in history not as a saviour, but as a symbol of treachery. He chose the wrong path.

Which path will you choose this year? Will you take the high road, or will you coast down the low road? Here’s God’s take, God’s loving advice to you, as you contemplate the year ahead:

Proverbs 4:26-27 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. (NIV)

It’s all too easy, like Brutus, to mask bad choices, deluding ourselves that we’re doing the right thing. But once the blade is drawn, there’s no going back. The alternative is to remain resolute, walking on the side of goodness, integrity and love.

Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.