Mensa Otabil - Consider Your Steps
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We’re learning wisdom from the Book of Proverbs, and we are in chapter 14. This is verse 15: «The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps.»
This proverb makes a comparison between the simple and the prudent. Who is the simple? The word «simple» in this verse means childish, inexperienced, or naive-somebody who is not mature enough. In other contexts, it also refers to someone who is lazy, someone who doesn’t make the effort to get things done. It says that the simple, or the childish, inexperienced person, is easily persuaded by what he hears. They believe everything. If you tell them something is red, they believe it. If you tell them the same thing is green, they believe it. Whatever they hear, they believe. Especially in this day of social media, many of us believe everything. We believe everything that is WhatsApped to us, and we believe everything on Facebook. Everything that is posted, we speak of as truth. Everything that is on the news, we consider to be true. If that’s how we look at life, then the Bible calls us simple people.
The simple also believes that his way is right, and that’s the wrong thing about the simple: they’re childish; they believe everything. Once something sticks in their heads, they believe it’s right, and they don’t review it. They don’t listen to any other perspectives because they are easily persuaded by what they have been told. They lack the power of self-analysis. The simple believes every word. Then the Bible talks about the second kind of person; it calls that person the prudent. The word prudent means sensible or a person who applies common sense to life, who exercises good judgment.
So the prudent is very different from the simple. The prudent is somebody who thinks through what they hear; they are common-sensical, they judge properly, and they make the right calls. What does the prudent do? The passage says they examine the path they are following; they consider well their steps. The simple will just believe everything and say it’s going to be all right, but the prudent is going to look at something and say, «Wait a minute, let’s think it through. Let’s apply some principles to it. Let’s examine it; let’s look at the other side.» That’s how the prudent makes a choice.
Then they consider the consequences of their actions. They’re thinking about the effects- if I do this, what will the outcome be? Not only about effects in this world, they are also thinking about eternal consequences. As human beings, we must not only think about earthly consequences; we must also think about eternal consequences. Where do we go when we leave this earth? What will God do with us? Where will our souls be? All of these are very important questions we have to ask. But a simple person doesn’t consider that. They live life very happily; they go on with their lives and don’t consider where they’re going. They believe everything they hear; they believe every story that is told to them.
The prudent spends time examining what they do. The question we all have to ask ourselves is: Are we the simple or the prudent? Are we one of those people who parrot everything that we are posted on WhatsApp, or are we one of those people who at least take the least action to cross-check it? We should Google it, try to find out other explanations for the same thing. Many times, we realize that the information people give us is wrong.
Don’t be simple-minded; be prudent. Think about consequences more than anything else. Think about the eternal consequences of your actions.
Let us pray. Stay with me. Heavenly Father, help me not to fall for lies and deception. Guide me to wisely choose my actions. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.