Wide Roads, Narrow Gates, and the Sin of Good Intentions

As a student of human nature—a subject mighty slippery and stubborn as a greased pig at a county fair, there’s one thing you can count on from our high-minded friends in the satin-trimmed salons of elite society–it’s their eternal, infernal habit of widening every path they come upon, whether it leads to Heaven, Hades, or the courthouse.

Why, you ask, is that noble society of left-leaning lords and ladies so fixed on paving broad boulevards where the Good Book only marked out a trailhead? Because it is in their nature to believe that if a thing is hard, it must be unjust. And if it is just, then it ought to be optional.

Jesus said, “Narrow is the way, and few there be that find it.” But these well-fed folks with delicate hands and full bellies seem to have read instead, “Narrow is the way, and that’s clearly a zoning problem.”

Take, for instance, a symposium at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas—an institution that traffics diplomas that have taken to trafficking in ideas most peculiar. There, gathered like well-meaning hens around a lantern, were advocates for sex work, pressing the notion that the only thing standing between prostitution and public health was a fresh coat of legality and a few kind-hearted judges.

Now, I ain’t here to cast stones at the folks who’ve found themselves working the oldest profession—Lord knows poverty doesn’t leave many options on the table. But what tickles the ribs and wrinkles the brow is the sheer certainty these self-appointed saviors believe that if we only pass enough bills and build enough bridges, we’ll end up in Paradise, or at least in a more progressive precinct.

They say things like, “Sex work should not be criminal,” and “Let’s listen to the workers.” These are the very same voices who’d turn their noses up at a preacher warning against sin, yet they’ll heap praise upon a sociology professor who says the problem is not the fire but the firefighter.

Time and again, we see a yearning to turn the crooked timber of humanity into something straight—not with repentance or redemption, mind you—with paperwork, pronouns, and policy panels.

And here lies the deeper trouble–they want to save the sinner without troubling the soul. They want to offer safety where the Scripture speaks of sacrifice and immunity where the Lord speaks of judgment.

And the Devil, I reckon, has never had better publicists.

So, to answer the question plainly–the elite prefers a wider path because it’s easier to build, walk, and sell in polite society. But easier–as any river knows–doesn’t always mean better, but it means heading downhill.