“Desire without knowledge is not good, and one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.”
(Proverbs 19:2, NRSV)
(Proverbs 19:2, NRSV)
David was driving his family to a wedding more than one hundred miles from home. Before leaving, he entered the address to the church in his GPS. A route was generated, and David was excited about seeing his relatives at the wedding. David's two sons and daughter hopped into the back seat of the truck. His wife rode in the passenger seat next to him. All were looking forward to the big day.
Nearing their exit ramp for the church, David noticed that there was road construction. Forced to pass their exit ramp that was closed, David figured they would take the next exit and double back. When David exited a few miles down the road, there was more road construction off the highway. It seemed each turn they made listed their time of the arrival on the GPS as later and later. Then, with only ten minutes to spare before the wedding began, they arrived where the GPS had directed them. There was no church. There was only an empty lot.
David pulled into the empty lot. His wife began to be visibly upset as David struggled with the GPS, trying to figure out what went wrong. All the while, the minutes were ticking down to the wedding. David entered the address of the church into the GPS three times. Each time, the gadget told David that they were at the right address. Then, David tried to call his father-in-law who was at the wedding. The call went to voicemail, as his father-in-law had turned off his phone for the wedding service. David tried calling the church, only to get the church’s answering machine. The entire time David tried to find the church, contact the family, and reboot his GPS, David’s wife and children were complaining, yelling, and at one point... crying. That day became one of the worst days of David’s life. David’s extended family never let him forget that he never did make it to the wedding in time, even arriving late for the reception!
Several years later, David looked back on that day very differently. In hindsight, David realized that he had made several mistakes. First, he trusted the GPS. Second, he never checked a map online or the one in his glove compartment. Third, he didn’t record the church address from the wedding invitation but from an online source without knowing that the church had moved to a different location six months prior to the wedding. Not only did David not make adequate plans for that trip, but he also got so caught up in the anger of his family members and errors in finding the right address that he didn’t have time to make up for his mistakes. In his haste to find a route to the church, David could not overcome all the errors in judgment he had made along the way.
There may be times when you, like David, feel rushed to make a decision when you are wholly unprepared to do so! Hurrying to decide doesn’t guarantee you will make the right choice! Truth be told, it’s much easier to make a mistake when you are rushing or ill-prepared.
In an experiment for a college psychology class, a group of students put together a scenario where other students would be put under pressure to make a decision. For their experiment, a paper with a bunch of facts was given to a student. The student only had a moment to remember all the facts. Then, they took the paper away from the student. The experimenters hooked the student up to a machine that gave a mild shock if he or she answered wrongly to questions about the facts on the paper given. What the class discovered in this test was that the pressure to get all the facts right often raised fear in the student. This fear then caused the student to make mistakes in memory recall. And, worst of all, when the student answered wrongly and got a jolt from the machine, he or she often made more and more mistakes as fear of getting a shock caused the brain to lose all connection to the facts. In essence, the more rushed and pressured the students, the more mistakes they made and the more jolts they took!
I could have told you how this experiment would turn out! One has only to look at the scripture for today to realize the obvious outcome. The second half of Proverbs 19:2 explains clearly that “one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.” When a person hurries to make a decision, opts for a hasty choice, or takes last-minute direction, it is very easy to “miss the way”. That is why the first half of Proverbs 19:2 warns the wise person that “desire without knowledge is not good”. Essentially, the scripture for today encourages the wise person to use knowledge to make good decisions. To rashly make choices without adequate preparation is a recipe for failure.
Throughout scripture, there is the notion that to be faithful, you must not rush headlong into making decisions. The book of Proverbs often speaks about the need to gather wisdom and knowledge so that you can make wise choices. Proverbs 19:8 concludes that those who “keep understanding” prosper. Proverbs 16:16 teaches that wisdom is more precious than gold and understanding is like having silver. Hundreds of times in Proverbs, we are told that fools abhor wisdom, lack knowledge, or don’t make good choices. A common theme throughout the entire Bible is that you must “wait on the Lord” before making important choices (Psalm 27:14, Psalm 130:5, Proverbs 20:22, Isaiah 8:17, Isaiah 40:31, Acts 1:4, Romans 8:25, James 5:7). To not “wait on the Lord” with prayer and a gathering of knowledge and wisdom would be just plain foolish.
The world will constantly fight against your “waiting upon the Lord”. The world likes people who make rash decisions, eat fast food, and throw money at their problems. You must be wise enough to hold back when you feel rushed to make a decision. Take a few moments, days, or weeks, to pray before you make big decisions. Whenever you find yourself in a moment of decision, it would be advantageous to stop and pray, asking the Holy Spirit if a choice is wise. As the scripture for today reiterates, “one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.” I don’t want you to miss your way on the path toward heaven!
I found it most enlightening to stop and pray before making choices. It helps to give a moment of thought to a time of decision. It gives time for God to intervene on my behalf. It helps to keep the world from pressuring me into making mistakes or falling into sin. What may benefit from prayer today? What knowledge might help you be prepared for upcoming situations?
Nearing their exit ramp for the church, David noticed that there was road construction. Forced to pass their exit ramp that was closed, David figured they would take the next exit and double back. When David exited a few miles down the road, there was more road construction off the highway. It seemed each turn they made listed their time of the arrival on the GPS as later and later. Then, with only ten minutes to spare before the wedding began, they arrived where the GPS had directed them. There was no church. There was only an empty lot.
David pulled into the empty lot. His wife began to be visibly upset as David struggled with the GPS, trying to figure out what went wrong. All the while, the minutes were ticking down to the wedding. David entered the address of the church into the GPS three times. Each time, the gadget told David that they were at the right address. Then, David tried to call his father-in-law who was at the wedding. The call went to voicemail, as his father-in-law had turned off his phone for the wedding service. David tried calling the church, only to get the church’s answering machine. The entire time David tried to find the church, contact the family, and reboot his GPS, David’s wife and children were complaining, yelling, and at one point... crying. That day became one of the worst days of David’s life. David’s extended family never let him forget that he never did make it to the wedding in time, even arriving late for the reception!
Several years later, David looked back on that day very differently. In hindsight, David realized that he had made several mistakes. First, he trusted the GPS. Second, he never checked a map online or the one in his glove compartment. Third, he didn’t record the church address from the wedding invitation but from an online source without knowing that the church had moved to a different location six months prior to the wedding. Not only did David not make adequate plans for that trip, but he also got so caught up in the anger of his family members and errors in finding the right address that he didn’t have time to make up for his mistakes. In his haste to find a route to the church, David could not overcome all the errors in judgment he had made along the way.
There may be times when you, like David, feel rushed to make a decision when you are wholly unprepared to do so! Hurrying to decide doesn’t guarantee you will make the right choice! Truth be told, it’s much easier to make a mistake when you are rushing or ill-prepared.
In an experiment for a college psychology class, a group of students put together a scenario where other students would be put under pressure to make a decision. For their experiment, a paper with a bunch of facts was given to a student. The student only had a moment to remember all the facts. Then, they took the paper away from the student. The experimenters hooked the student up to a machine that gave a mild shock if he or she answered wrongly to questions about the facts on the paper given. What the class discovered in this test was that the pressure to get all the facts right often raised fear in the student. This fear then caused the student to make mistakes in memory recall. And, worst of all, when the student answered wrongly and got a jolt from the machine, he or she often made more and more mistakes as fear of getting a shock caused the brain to lose all connection to the facts. In essence, the more rushed and pressured the students, the more mistakes they made and the more jolts they took!
I could have told you how this experiment would turn out! One has only to look at the scripture for today to realize the obvious outcome. The second half of Proverbs 19:2 explains clearly that “one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.” When a person hurries to make a decision, opts for a hasty choice, or takes last-minute direction, it is very easy to “miss the way”. That is why the first half of Proverbs 19:2 warns the wise person that “desire without knowledge is not good”. Essentially, the scripture for today encourages the wise person to use knowledge to make good decisions. To rashly make choices without adequate preparation is a recipe for failure.
Throughout scripture, there is the notion that to be faithful, you must not rush headlong into making decisions. The book of Proverbs often speaks about the need to gather wisdom and knowledge so that you can make wise choices. Proverbs 19:8 concludes that those who “keep understanding” prosper. Proverbs 16:16 teaches that wisdom is more precious than gold and understanding is like having silver. Hundreds of times in Proverbs, we are told that fools abhor wisdom, lack knowledge, or don’t make good choices. A common theme throughout the entire Bible is that you must “wait on the Lord” before making important choices (Psalm 27:14, Psalm 130:5, Proverbs 20:22, Isaiah 8:17, Isaiah 40:31, Acts 1:4, Romans 8:25, James 5:7). To not “wait on the Lord” with prayer and a gathering of knowledge and wisdom would be just plain foolish.
The world will constantly fight against your “waiting upon the Lord”. The world likes people who make rash decisions, eat fast food, and throw money at their problems. You must be wise enough to hold back when you feel rushed to make a decision. Take a few moments, days, or weeks, to pray before you make big decisions. Whenever you find yourself in a moment of decision, it would be advantageous to stop and pray, asking the Holy Spirit if a choice is wise. As the scripture for today reiterates, “one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.” I don’t want you to miss your way on the path toward heaven!
I found it most enlightening to stop and pray before making choices. It helps to give a moment of thought to a time of decision. It gives time for God to intervene on my behalf. It helps to keep the world from pressuring me into making mistakes or falling into sin. What may benefit from prayer today? What knowledge might help you be prepared for upcoming situations?