Stay in Your Lane

Over the last year I have heard the phrase “stay in you lane” more than once.  I checked the internet, and there is even a hashtag #stayinyourlane.  What’s the definition?  I always thought it meant “stick to what you know best” or “stay out of business that does not concern you.”  Some of the hashtags most associated with this one are #motivation, #explore, #love, and of course #mindyourbusiness.  Do you know what your lane is?  I always thought it was a narrow definition of what you were good at, like math, teaching, or cooking; or what you loved to do, like gardening, exercising, reading, or boating.  After reading the Book of Proverbs recently, I had a better idea of what my lane is, or rather what the “Christian” lane is.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  This tells us what we need to do to make a lane—and a straight one at that!  Trust the Lord, and submit to Him and His understanding.

Further on in verses 27-28, we are given this mandate:  “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you’–when you already have it with you.”  Wow—use your power of good to help your neighbor.  Do it now!

Finally, in Proverbs 4:25-27, we read “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to thepaths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”  So now we know how to stay in our lane.  Eyes ahead; focus on the path before you; do not stray from that path.

In other words, stay in your lane means not so much minding your own business, but finding your own business.  Just like the other hashtags state:  Motivation, explore, and love!

Betsy Hall