You know your car has a bad alignment when it doesn’t drive straight but pulls to the right or the left.

An old car of mine developed bad alignment, and I knew that I needed to get it fixed, but I didn’t take it in right away because the problem was easy to ignore. 

The alignment wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t terrible either. The alignment didn’t make my car drive crazy or prevent me from getting from point A to B, so it was tempting to make excuses and delay the fix.

Now, I’m sure all you “car people” out there are shaking your heads in dismay. While it’s not necessarily dangerous to drive a car with a bad alignment, it can cause unseen problems. 

For example, your tires will wear unevenly and need replacing sooner. If you don’t replace them, you could have a blowout. You’ll also put stress on the suspension, which could cause certain parts to break and need repair. But these issues will likely take a while to become urgent.

More immediately, your car simply won’t perform as well with a bad alignment. For example, your car may take longer to respond to steering and pedal commands, and the steering wheel may vibrate at high speeds. 

The most annoying thing about a bad alignment is that you constantly have to fight the steering wheel to get the car to drive straight. The worse the alignment, the worse the fight. 

Now, have you ever felt like you’ve been spiritually out of alignment? 

We’re veering off the straight and narrow path and drifting to the right or left. Maybe we’re gazing wistfully at all the “fun” we’re missing out on in the world.

Deut. 5:32 says, “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.”

When we are in alignment with God, then it’s natural to walk straight and true in righteousness. When we’re not in alignment, then we are constantly getting off track and fighting with ourselves to get back on the path. It can be exhausting, and we may grow weary in our spiritual walk, wondering why it’s so hard, and debating whether we should just take the easier way, which allows for plenty of swerving and swaying. 

But we also know that “wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:13-14).

When we’re out of alignment, we won’t “perform well” in our spiritual walk—to keep the car analogy going. We may not react promptly to God’s voice when He speaks to us, telling us to go or stop. When life gets busy, and time is zooming by at breakneck speed, we may find ourselves shaking with anxiety or fatigue. 

If we let the problem get worse, then we might be unable to continue our walk with God due to a blowout or break. For example, our spiritual misalignment could lead to major offenses in our closest relationships. It may cause us to yield to increasingly serious temptations and then lie to cover up what we did. These are emergencies that bring our spiritual lives to a screeching halt.

So, if I am out of alignment, how do I fix it? 

I must take my issue to God, the master mechanic. I do this by, first, acknowledging Him as the authority over my life and confessing my sin before Him. 

I need to go to church, read my scriptures, and pray every day. God will gladly set me back on the path, fixing and adjusting my inner workings until I’m back on track.

When my spiritual life is back in alignment, I will feel at peace on my journey along the straight and narrow path. I don’t know about you, but that sounds wonderful. I don’t want to make excuses and procrastinate my realignment until it’s too late. Thankfully, God’s repair shop is always open, and the bill has been paid in full. 

Note: This article was inspired by a recent Sunday sermon in my branch.