When I was in my twenties I became interested in aviation and took flying lessons from a commercial airline pilot while living in Minnesota. Since those days, I have tried to interest my children in what I learned and that has become a point of humor in our family. Because I have sought to generate an interest in aerodynamics and therefore have repeatedly explained to my wife and to each of my four children what physical principles operate in keeping an airplane in the air, my children will often respond when I point out an airplane in the sky, "We know dad, Bernoulli's Law." None of my children, nor my wife, has shown the interest I then had and still have today. Nevertheless, I now have the opportunity to interest you, the reader. However, there are some valuable spiritual lessons that I would like to draw from what I learned about flying an airplane that will probably be more important to you than understanding Bernoulli's law which explains lift.

One of the most basic lessons that was emphasized by my flight instructor was that you cannot pull back on the wheel too fast when taking off. In order to maintain lift on the wings you must keep your forward movement fast enough else the plane will stall, lift will be lost, and the airplane will face disaster. Without going into all the technical details which my children have heard, let me say that there is a spiritual principle about life and living that parallels that aerodynamic principle. A person can "stall" in life and in living when he or she tries to "pull-up" too fast. Jesus says it this way, "For everyone who exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbeleth himself shall be exalted."

We have all come across people, and maybe we are those people, who have sought to climb fast in the business world, in power or position, in material possessions, or in the eyes of others. Such a spirit shows itself through boasting, or manipulating, or back-biting and gossip, or unwisely increasing one's indebtedness, etc. There are some young couples who are looking to have it all quickly or early in life and are not willing to work and wait for God's timing. Some business men and women are willing to walk on others to get that promotion. The desire of keeping up with the Jones's has led others to credit card slavery. Some people believe that the road to success is through boasting about themselves and their accomplishments and at times with a complete disregard to truth. Others are driven by the desire to get rich quickly and have become addicted to gambling. All of these examples demonstrate the desire to climb quickly and to reach great altitudes. Nevertheless, many find out that they "stall" and are frustrated in reaching such goals.

There is no lack of biblical examples which illustrate the danger of trying to climb high fast. Ahab killed Naboth for his vineyard. Absalom sought to overthrow David, his father, for the kingdom. Judas sought to get rich fast and betrayed Jesus. The goal of all such people was the same, getting up high and getting up fast. Not one historical Bible character who exalted himself over others found what they were looking for and crashed just feet off the runway.

Whether or not you ever take flying lessons and are taught to pull-up slowly when taking off, do not fail to learn the spiritual lesson that attempting to reach high altitudes too fast will lead to disaster. Even if you have had many hours in the air and believe that you can handle the craft, maybe it is best that you don't assume the pilot's seat. Allow the Lord to pilot the plane and set your flight plan. He knows exactly how fast to pull-up and how high to go. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understandings, in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths."