There once were a group of sea captains who decided to embark upon a journey to the shores of eternity across the ocean of life. To aid them on their journey, they were each given a navigator to chart their voyage.

The first navigator was guided by experience and knew the courses to take by heart. They had been passed down to him and he was filled with confidence that he could get the ship across the ocean directly and with the least number of hazards. As they set out on their voyage and disappeared over the horizon, it occurred to him and the captain that every direction looked the same. They had no landmarks or fixed points from which to navigate. They headed in the general direction and stayed on the same course the entire trip. But the waves, the winds, and the currents pushed them off course, and since they had no fixed reference points, they ended up hundreds of miles away from their destination and in the wrong harbor. 

The second navigator had the entire library of charts and knew which navigation points to use. But he lacked confidence in his skills and frequently changed courses out of self doubt and fear of getting it wrong. He ended up going in frequent circles and took five times as long as it should have taken him. They eventually got to the correct harbor terrible late, and the captain considered throwing him overboard. They made it, but it was way more stressful than it needed to be.

The third navigator had basic competence and convinced the captain that he was doing a great job. But what the captain didn’t know was that the navigator was steering whichever course would get him the captain’s approval. Pleasing the captain was his goal, and as a result they never made it to the harbor, but at least they felt good about it! 

The fourth navigator knew his craft, had all the charts and tools for navigation and me-t his focus on the mission. When he would get an update on his position, he would change course. He wasn’t concerned with the captain’s approval, since that would be useless if they didn’t complete the journey. When the captain didn’t like where they were, he stayed on course. He knew the charts and the instruments were correct and the fixed reference points were accurate. He sailed with confidence and they arrived in time and without incident at their harbor.

On your spiritual journey, which navigator are you? Are you sure?