Proverbs 19:20
Pay attention to advice and accept correction, so you can live sensibly.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
It doesn’t matter what age we are, many of us would rather learn the hard way than take advice or correction from someone else. Toddlers are told, “You’re going to pinch your fingers in that door,” and until they do, they will probably keep sticking them there. Teenagers and young adults are told, “We aren’t trying to run your lives, but we’ve ‘been there, done that,’ and this is what happens,” yet they sometimes have to discover for themselves that this is the outcome Older adults are told, “If you don’t slow down and take it easy, you are going to fall and end up breaking a hip,” and they continue trying to do things just as they did them twenty years earlier… and often end up having hip replacement surgery and rehab – or going to a nursing home.
It seems that our definition of “sensibly” is often something far different from the other guy’s – and certainly that of scripture. So it’s no wonder that we are no more willing to take the advice and correction found in the Bible, is it?!
The trouble with this logic is that the advice and correction of other humans may help us short-term, but the teachings of the Bible have ramifications for Eternity. Yes, God wants us to live sensibly on this earth, but He is far more concerned with what we are building for our heavenly future. If we are spinning our wheels making one mistake after another, we are not honoring God and serving Him as we should… and it’s possible we may miss the mark completely and fail to accept the salvation of Jesus Christ. In turn, this could mean that we do not receive the gift of Eternal Life – and the promise of a future in heaven.
I’m not saying this is where you are today, but we humans are stubborn know-it-alls sometimes… especially in our spiritual walk. Are you sure you are listening to God and paying attention to His advice and correction? Are you merely assuming your friends and relatives have accepted Jesus and will join you in heaven someday? Have you made sure that those in your “circle” have had exposure to the scriptures and the message of salvation through Jesus Christ? Have you shared the advice of God and His Holy Word with others?
Is it time for us to have a talk with God and ask for His advice and correction, so that we “get it together”? Just how sensibly are we living these days?
©2010 Debbie Robus
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