The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

Proverbs 14:15, ESV

This is a lesson on thinking about what you do before it's too late.

Have you ever heard that old proverb, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread"? I heard it when I was younger, but didn't think much of it. When I was young, I usually said what I said, and then thought about it later. I got more than a few black eyes and bloodied noses as a result, but it took me a while to relate the two actions.

Now, this doesn't mean that I was a complete idiot. I learned very young not to speak my mind without regard for consequences when in the presence of my parents. I was about four years of age when my mom told me to hop down from the couch I was standing on. Quick as a whip, I responded with a catchy little phrase I had heard in the neighborhood while running with the boys. The phrase was, "I don't have to if I don't want to". Technically, I was correct. Discerning person that Mom was, she realized that her boy needed swift and decisive action, and she was happy to provide it. She didn't teach me that I did have to even if I didn't want to. She simply taught me to want to.

The year of that fateful event was 1964, and my sweet mother passed in 2019. In that 55-year gap, I don't ever remember talking back to my mother a single time. The lesson was learned.

But there were other lessons that I was slower to learn - some from my own deeds, but most from observing the actions of others. For instance, did you know that a nosebleed lasts for a couple of minutes but that the bruising from a broken nose lasts for several weeks? Did you know that a cool Mohawk haircut can be given in about 15 minutes, but that it takes about six months to grow it out? Or that it only takes an hour or so to get that edgy tattoo on your neck, but that the ink is permanent and will last a lifetime? Or that it only takes an hour or two to get drunk, but that a DWI complete with your name listed in the paper with the rest of the criminals will damage your reputation for a long, long time, and that if you kill someone while you are driving under the influence that your actions will sometimes last for years after you pass from this earth?

The point of all this is that prudent people will realize that their actions have consequences, and that this realization will hopefully cause them to think before they act. I know that this will hurt the feelings of some who have already participated in these types of behavior, but it is an important line of thinking for people to engage in who might be thinking of doing these very things but who haven't done them yet. 

And, more importantly, it is most critical that we think of things that have eternal consequences before we rush into them and do them anyway. I have seen a lot of grief in the lives of those who have made poor eternal decisions. The fact of the matter is that those who reject God and His ways will suffer for all of eternity. Hell is a very real place, even for those who are convinced that it is not. God will place many, many people into this eternal punishment, regardless of their belief to the contrary. Because of this, many feel depressed, angry, and trapped. I have spoken to several people (and have witnessed more) who realize that their behavior has doomed them to this punishment. 

But the nice thing - the beautiful thing - is that their punishment is not sealed yet. It is true that their actions may come complete with penalties that last their entire physical lives (such as that multi-colored face tattoo) but we need to understand that the sins we have committed when we were imprudent do not have to follow us into eternity. God's love for us has resulted in His extending a grace that can save us from permanent consequences, for those of us who will accept the terms of that grace. Christ's sacrifice really can cleanse us from our past sin, if we will follow Him in the way that He has decided it must be done.

I realize that this will hurt the feelings of those who have already decided that God's grace and Jesus' sacrifice mean that we don't have to do anything ourselves, but that's okay. I would rather have my feelings hurt when someone is honest enough to tell me in advance that the cool nose ring I am contemplating will make me look like an idiot, and I would far rather have my feelings hurt when someone enlightens me in the truth that God's grace and Christ's shed blood have never been a license for sin.

So, I know that the truth is sometimes hard to hear when it comes to the eternal, but I also know from experience that the accepting of that truth will change your life! You do not have to go to Hell! You can repent of your past sins and have them washed away in the pure waters of baptism. You can allow God to remove every spiritual penalty and enjoy the remainder of your life in a confident yet humble realization that you really are going to Heaven someday if you will simply be prudent and remain faithful. In short, you can be prudent enough to see that your actions can not only have permanent penalties, but that they can also have permanent rewards.

All you and I have to do to take advantage of this choice is to be prudent and give thought to the steps that we have remaining. God loves you! He does not want you to suffer. That's why sin is forbidden, but it is also why He gives us the opportunity to take advantage of the greatest "do over" ever offered. The only question that remains is this: Are we prudent enough to see it?