Jeremiah 7:24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
Can You Progress in the Wrong Direction?
I think most of us like progress. We want to feel like we are making strides in the right direction. But many times people confuse action with progress. They think that simply because they are moving in a direction they must be making progress, but nothing could be further from the truth. Ultimately, progress can only be measured in reference to my relationship to an unchanging God. That was the message of Jeremiah to a rebellious people.
In Jeremiah 7:21-24 we are reminded that dependence upon places and practices while ignoring God is superstition, not faith. God’s people were doing all the things that God had commanded as far as sacrifices and feasts were concerned, but their hearts were far from God. Their traditions had no effect because God did not have their hearts.
Jeremiah addresses this in verse 24 where he says, “But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.” When God brought Israel out of Egypt, Israel was making progress not merely because they were moving, but because they were following God. When they refused to listen to God, they were making movement, but not progress. They went backward and not forward.
Jeremiah has a good definition of backsliding, which is “to go backward and not forward.” To progress in the wrong direction is to go backward not forward. It is never progress to make good time in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, there have been times I have refused to stop and ask for directions even though I was lost. I preferred to make good time going somewhere than to make a little bit of progress in the right direction.
Today the title “progressive” is thrown around both as a term used in politics and to describe the actions of a church or movement. It is important to remember that the title “progressive” as it is generally used is more of a claim than an objective description. True progress is achieved by following the leading of God step by step each day.