Well, it finally happened – I looked down and noticed a stone missing from my ring. I’ve been worried about the prongs; so I took it to several places and they all warned me that the prongs were in bad shape. I looked at in under a very powerful magnifying glass and noticed that the one prong was pointing straight up. No wonder it felt rough! So, I pushed it back down – there! No problem. Not really. That extra pushing and bending must have weakened it because not only is the prone gone, but the stone is gone as well!
Why didn’t I listen? Because I thought I knew better! I can take care of it and save money to boot! I knew it would be expensive to get it fixed at the jewelers, but now it’s going to cost me even more!
I am writing this from the sponsor lounge at the Wilds Christian Camp in North Carolina and the spiritual applications are too numerous to share; however, as we listened to the speaker pouring out his heart last night to the teens about fighting the battles that they are facing and being a victor instead of a victim, I realized that I am a victim of my own making! I knew what to do but didn’t do it because it would cost me too much! How many of those teens know what they need to do but won’t do it because it will cost them too much: their friends, their pleasure, their comfort?
I’m thinking of a young man who came to this camp seven years ago. He was in my son’s cabin, and because of how the Lord was directing our lives, our paths would often cross again over the years. He heard all the warnings that these teens are hearing, but he did not heed them. Now, seven years later, he has fathered three children to three different women. His life is a mess. God can still get hold of his life and change it, but the scars will be there for a lifetime! Sin will always cost more than we want to pay and take us further than we wanted to go.
As you read this, what warning signs are you ignoring? Do you see them in your children – perhaps they are not going the way you would like for them to go. Is it a bad habit that you know you should give up or a good habit that you know you should start?
“Do it now, don’t delay!
Don’t put it off for another day!
Go ahead begin it; right this very minute. You’d better do it now!”
(Thank you Ron Hamilton, Kidnapped on I-Land!)
If only I had done it sooner! I’m thankful my SIN of procrastination only cost me a tiny stone! How much greater the cost always is when we procrastinate in our spiritual walk!
“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”
Acts 26:28
Beyond Common Sense 