Look Before You Leap
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. – John 8:44 NKJV.
Would you pay $1,963,655.99 for boxes of sports memorabilia without knowing exactly what is in those boxes? That is the most expensive item currently on sale at Amazon. But before you say that is way too much, the item has been marked down, it’s on sale! The original price was $3.5 million! Of course, it could be a great deal with 9,000 items in the boxes of signed NFL memorabilia: cards, helmets, jerseys, footballs from games along with a certificate of authenticity. And, it can all be yours, just add it to the cart and click. Oh, and you will probably need one of those black unlimited credit cards….
Unless you are a multi-billionaire with $2 million to throw away you would likely look before you leaped to buy all of those sports memorabilia. As in, you would want to know exactly what was in those boxes and the estimated current value of each item. You know, if you did actually have $2 million to invest in something like that.
The first known recorded use of the phrase look before you leap is recorded in John Heyword’s verse in 1546 about not rushing into marriage:
And though they seeme wives for you never so fit,
Yet let not harmfull haste so far out run your wit:
But that ye harke to heare all the whole summe
That may please or displease you in time to cumme.
Thus by these lessons ye may learne good cheape
In wedding and all things to looke ere ye leaped
We are continually faced with making decisions about the relationship’s we form, what we buy, and what we will believe. Not only must we look before we buy, believe, or form relationships, but we must also have the wisdom to know the value of something or the truth of a matter. The sad truth is that people do lie, people do try to deceive, and we need wisdom to look before we leap. How do we obtain that wisdom? We are told clearly how to have wisdom in James 1:5: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” However, asking is only the first step, because we must not only ask, but we must also hear. The very best way to hear the still, small voice of God is through reading, studying, and meditating on the Word of God.
According to a survey conducted by Lifeway in 2016 only 11% of Americans have read through the entire Bible and only 9% have read through the entire Bible more than once. 12% said they have almost read through the entire Bible. 30% have read some stories or passages from the Bible. Although Americans don’t read the Bible that much 52% say that it is a good source for morals, 37% say it is still helpful in these times, and 35% say it is life changing.
The very best way to look before you leap is to ask God for wisdom on a continuing basis and to be reading, studying, and meditating on the Word of God every day. Make 2019 the year that you read through the entire Bible!