Serious question: How many times do we have to be warned before there are no more warnings? Ever stopped to consider the question? Has your conscience ever spoken to you in that still, small voice to warn you and you ignored it? I know I have - more times than I care to remember.
Once I drove drunk on my birthday on the way home from a stock car race. I went through a late yellow light and turned on to a new highway. A highway patrol officer pulled me over and gave me a field sobriety test. I failed and was carted off to jail. Sadly, my little brother was in the car and my step-father had to drive 20 miles past midnight to pick him up.
A second time I was driving under the influence of alcohol (and plenty of it) and was arrested after totally destroying a car I had spent a month restoring.
After just these two events I still did not heed that inner voice and warning but instead did it again! That particular time I had my license suspended but also faced a year in jail. Fortunately for me, the judge went easy on me and I only spent a night in jail because I immediately pled guilty in court the following day.
I finally learned my lesson and don't drink any longer.
Warnings
God has given us all an early warning system. It is called our conscience. We know what is wrong and right and are allowed to make right or wrong choices. However, if we continue to ignore our early warning system, things usually don't go well for us.
I remember a bright young lady who had a very expensive car given to her on her 16th birthday by her father. She was attractive and had her entire life ahead of her: scholarships to university and the whole nine yards. She was always texting a mile a minute.
Well, Texas passed a law: No texting and driving. Of course, she like me, ignored this law several times. As for me, I had a hot, red Ford Mustang GT. One day I was driving about 60 kph and was texting while driving. My then girlfriend was in the passenger seat and screamed, "Watch out!"
At the last possible second I jerked the steering wheel hard to the right and missed a stalled car by mere inches.
Back to the teen. She was driving around 120 kph on a tollway. As we know, several hundred meters ahead of the toll booth we are warned to slow down and prepare to pay.
This teen gal was texting and blazed past the warning signs that were flashing yellow lights. It was estimated she never hit the brakes and instead hit the toll booth at the same speed she had been driving. She was decapitated. The car parts were spread for a hundred meters, the engine having been ripped out of the car.
By ignoring the warning she forfeited her life.
The ultimate warnings
Our ultimate warning comes from God. When speaking to Israel and Judah, He said:
"It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish" (Deuteronomy 8:19).
"Yeah," but that was the Old Testament," some will say. Need I remind you dear readers that it is also in the New Testament?
"Little children, guard yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21).
Everything we put before God is an idol. Spending 40 hours a week in front of a laptop or a smartphone and an hour worshipping God is an error (unless that is our job). Money can be an idol, women and men can be an idol. Statues and gold and food can become an idol. Again, anything can be an idol.
Listen to what the Jesus our God says:
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21, NIV).
That's pretty clear to me. How about you?
Application
Nobody needs to tell us what is right and wrong. An inner voice informs us, warns us ahead of time. Yet we do the wrong thing and ignore the warnings time and again. How many times do we have to be warned before we suffer consequences?
Let's pay heed to warnings, from signs and laws, and especially warnings from God. It's for our own good, unless of course the warnings contradict God's word. Let us pray for discernment and wisdom, for the Lord will freely give it to us.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you" (James 1:5, NIV).
All images are free courtesy of https://pixabay.com/
"The Light has come into the world, but humanity preferred the darkness to the Light," as the saying goes... Unfortunately. We could all be saved if it were that simple and everyone embraced light. Hello and good evening!