My daughter, Eliana, is 9 months old and is climbing up on EVERYTHING. There is a small step stool my older daughter, Eden, uses. Eliana will climb it and reach for cabinet knobs. I knew watching her, this could and probably will end in tears. Then I got caught in conversation. About a minute later, my ears are throbbing and it sounds like an ambulances decided to loose it’s mind in my kitchen. How something that small can make a sound that BIG is a small miracle. I know I will not be getting the father or the year award, because she has done it before didn’t learn and I know she will do it again.
Proverbs 22:3 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
Both the prudent and the simpleton foresee danger, it is what they do with it, that determines the outcome. I foresaw Eliana hurting herself and could have easily taken precaution, but I got distracted and went on blindly and suffered the consequences and so did my daughter. I think in all of our lives we do things knowing they could end very badly and probably should end badly. We through caution to the wind and go on blindly and then blame God for the consequences we face.
I believe there are a number of reasons why we do not take precaution. One is we do not take time to stop, process what we are about to do and foresee the potential outcomes. Our culture trains us to pursue happiness and what we want now. The culture of the Kingdom will sacrifice what we want now for what we want most. Take Eliana… What I want most is for my daughter to feel safe and protected in my home. What I wanted in the moment was to stay engaged in the conversation. I made a poor decision. How many stories do all of us have where we chose something in the moment that violated a greater value we wanted most. I could write a book. So what decision are you facing today between what you want now and what you want most? Stop, process the outcomes, and decide…
I think how we continue to make those decisions will dictate our options in the future. If you invest wisely starting in your 20’s, you won’t be dependant on a bankrupt government for social insecurity. If you love and pray over your spouse or future spouse you will have a greater chance of staying married. If you choose wise friends, you will like the quality of life you experience later. So I ask it one last time…
What decision am I facing now? What do I want now? What do I want most?
Stop, process the outcomes, and decide knowing the prudent foresee danger and make precautions, and the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
Recklessly, obsessively following Jesus
Brandon Sereg
