70. Think before you act

Aaron and Miriam criticized Moses like we discussed last week. They criticized him because they were jealous of him. They wanted more honor and glory for themselves. But God exposed their true motives and punished them by giving Miriam leprosy. They were quickly very sorry about their sinful attitude that they had.

'Aaron cried out to Moses, "Oh my lord! Please don't punish us for this sin we have so foolishly committed. Don't let her be like a stillborn baby, already decayed at birth." Numbers 12:11, 12

They quickly saw how foolish they had been and were very sorry. King Saul was also very sorry because he didn't listen to the Lord. He was very sorry that he didn't listen when he spared King Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle instead of destroying them all as he was commanded by God to do.

'Then Saul finally admitted (to Samuel), "Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord's command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. Oh, please, forgive my sin now and go with me to worship the Lord." 1 Samuel 15:24, 25

Despite Saul's temporary remorse, the consequences of his actions were that the kingdom was torn from him and given to the lineage of David.

David sinned too and was also very sorry afterwards. He had an affair with Bathsheba, got her pregnant and murdered her husband. And when he was confronted with it by Nathan the prophet, he confessed his sin and was very sorry. But despite his remorse the baby of the affair died and the sword was a constant threat to his family.

There are many other examples in the Bible like Samson who lost his eyesight and died after being seduced by Delilah, Jephthah who lost his daughter after making a rash vow etcetera, but the point is we need to think before we act. Our foolish actions sometimes look so appropriate and reasonable when we act upon them, but afterward we can clearly see how foolish and stupid they were. My Bible's commentary puts it nicely:

'Get rid of foolish ideas, before they turn into foolish actions. This requires eliminating our wrong thoughts and motives.'

I think that is one of the reasons why Paul says:

'Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.' Colossians 3:2

It is when the earth and all its pleasures fill our thoughts that we act foolishly.  We need to concentrate on Jesus and what He is planning for us and how He wants us to live, only then will our actions become heavenly and not foolish. I am positive that we will also have a better life here on earth as we don't have to deal with all the consequences of our stupid actions too.

Father please forgive our foolish actions. We easily act foolishly. Please help us and warn us by Your Spirit before we act like fools. We'd rather act like Your heavenly people and have peace around us. Thank you Lord. Amen   

Post a comment