Keep Your Guard Up
"So, if you think you are standing firm,
be careful that you don’t fail!"
– 1 Corinthians 10:12
It’s easy to get cocky, isn’t it? We know we’re good
at something. We feel confident we can do it. We believe that we won’t ever
mess up, that nothing will ever go wrong, that we won’t make the mistakes
others have made.
Until we do. Then all the world is looking at us,
remembering all the hateful and mean putdowns we made when they were the ones
making mistakes. We thought we were stronger that everyone else. We thought we
were smarter than everyone else.
We weren’t. In this verse, Jesus is talking about
temptation. In this passage, He tells us not to let our guard down. Jesus also
tells us that God always provides a way out.
Jesus knew a thing or two about temptation. Remember
when He went into the wilderness and the devil tempted Him? He also frequently
faced traps the Pharisees set for Him. They wanted to trick Jesus but it never
worked.
We aren’t always so wise. We walk into a trap,
oblivious for what awaits us. We think it will be different for us. It never
is.
It’s not always about something major. It’s really the
little things. We probably aren’t going to go out and rob a bank. We understand
that is stealing and it’s wrong. But how about padding your expense account?
That’s stealing too but “everyone” does it so we tell ourselves it’s okay.
We also think the cut-throat co-worker won’t come
after us. We know their techniques. We’re too smart to fall for the trap. Until
we do.
It’s worse when the person is a friend or family member.
We didn’t see it coming. We weren’t watching closely. We never thought they would
do what they so clearly did and we let our guard down. We pay a heavy price for
that.
A few months ago I sold some cows. That’s not unusual
in my world. But this time I was selling a cow that I’d been told was wild and
would turn on me. She’d never been aggressive toward me at all. I questioned
the men who told me this closely. They were adamant that I needed to sell her
before she hurt me.
Because I respected the men who told me to sell her, I
did. When it was time to load her on a trailer, she tried to kill me and the
three cowboys who were loading her. It was a really scary situation. When the
cowboys told me to step back and let them handle it, I didn’t need them to tell
me twice. I will never be the same.
I am thankful for the two men who warned me about her.
And I am thankful that God provided me with the wisdom to follow their advice
even when it made no sense to me. Life is like that sometimes. We don’t
understand why God doesn’t want us to do something or why He leads us in a
direction we never planned to travel. Will we be obedient to a God who truly
knows what is best for us or will we be too stubborn to head His warning?
This journey is fraught with dangerous potholes. We
can pay attention and heed the warning signs or we can charge ahead, overly
confident of our abilities. God gives us the choice. Choose wisely.
