System Alert!

You've heard the joke about the man who visited his doctor and complained of his ears ringing and great pressure behind his eyeballs. The doctor gave him some medications and sent him home. He went back a few weeks later and complained again, the doctor gave him water pills and sent him home. Finally the man thinking he was near death went to his tailor to buy a suit in which he would be buried. He was to the point of no return and had given up hope. The tailor measured his arms, his chest, and his neck. Writing down the sizes, the tailor said, "Arms are 32, chest is 40, and your neck is 17 inches." The man looked astonished and said, "No, my neck should be 15 inches." The two argued back and forth and the man vehemently stood his ground that the shirt should be a 15 inch neckline to which the tailor replied, "If you choose to wear the 15 inch neckline then expect your ears to ring and your eyes to pop out of your head."

"The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

(Proverbs 1:1-7, NIV)

Occasionally, an alert will pop up on my computer and it is good to pay attention to these. The alert will have been the result of an ongoing scan being done to the system and will have revealed some deficiency within the software that needs to be fixed, patched, or removed. One of these occurred today. I saw the heart with a yellow caution marker and immediately resolved the issue. I like the fact that our computers run diagnostics to keep everything working well. It would be a shame to have the machine run the diagnostic then I refuse to do anything with the recommendations. Foolish might be a better word to use here.

The entire 31 chapters of Proverbs nestled in the Old Testament are chock full of wisdom, warnings, and direction. One could write Proverbs off as some archaic writing that has no relevance or influence in the 21st century and they would be wrong....dead wrong. Within each writing of King Solomon et al. are mini-diagnostics for our entire heart, mind, and spirit. It is beneficial to heed the advice of God's word. Those who heed this advice reap the fruits of obedience and are showered with understanding.

The outcome of ignoring biblical guidance is akin to seeing the diagnostic warning on your tablet or laptop and scoff. It is akin to walking around with ringing ears and bulging eyes and not listening to your tailor. It is akin to any situation where you know the information is good but choose to ignore it. Why would one do this? The answer to this question has its origins in the Garden of Eden. Freedom for the first couple was deep and wide with one exception in the middle of the garden. God's warning was clear yet they both succumbed to temptation and so began the need for each of us to have an ongoing diagnostic test running in our hearts. When we see recommendations for heart repairs, don't ignore them but rather allow God to bring the suggested healing to us so that our life can fulfill all that God has in mind for us to do. It is really simple. Give God's Word the respect it deserves and you'll experience joy, meaning, and hope.

"A Musing Pastor"