**This is a continuation from last weeks article “should’ve seen that coming” and the 2nd excerpt of five that I will post from Andy Stanley’s book..
About 20 years ago, I bumped into a verse in the book of Proverbs that has empowered me and my family to avoid countless complications. The unnecessary kind. In fact, this verse inspired Sandra and me to pray a prayer that we still recite to this day. Actually, recite is a bit weak. This is a prayer we cling to. I’ve included the prayer at the end, but first let’s take a look at the verse that inspired it:
The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. ~Proverbs 27:12
This verse introduces us to two kinds of people – the prudent and the simple. Elsewhere in Proverbs these fellow travelers are referred to as wise and naive. Both are headed down the same path. Both “see danger” but they react differently.And, consequently, they experience very different outcomes.
Life-changing, huh? Okay, maybe not. At least not on the surface. So follow me for a moment as we take a deeper look. Let’s start with the first half: “The prudent see danger and take refuge…” In the book of Proverbs, the term prudent is used interchangeably with wise. So a prudent person is a wise person. The implication here is that a prudent man or woman understands that all of life is connected. He is aware of the cause-and-effect relationship between what he chooses today and what he experiences tomorrow, what he chooses during one season of life and his experience in a future season – for better or worse. Consequently, prudent people look as far down the road as possible when making decisions. Every decision.
After all, they understand that today and tomorrow are connected. As the author of Proberbs states, they stay on the lookout for signs of trouble up ahead.. Today’s decisions are informed and influenced by their impact on tomorrow. Drawing on their own experience or the experience of others, they anticipate the future and choose accordingly. They ask what I often refer to as the best question ever. “In light of my past experience, and my future hopes and dreams, what’s the wise thing to do?” The prudent draw upon the wealth of data that life has already provided them and then take appropriate action when they see danger ahead.
In the second half of the verse, we are introduced to a second category of folks: the simple. “…but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”
Simple is used interchangeably with the term naive. In contrast to the prudent, the simple or naive person lives as though life is disconnected; as if there is no connection between today’s choices and tomorrow’s experiences. When the simple “see danger,” they don’t take evasive action. The keep going.
Notice, I said they live as if life is disconnected. They don’t necessarily believe that to be the case. If you were to ask them, “Do you think there is a connection between the choices you make today and what you will experience in the future?” They would in all likelihood answer yes. Again, it is not that they don’t believe life is connected. The point is they don’t live as if it is.
“Who would be so… naive?” you ask. Pretty much everybody at some point. Every time you eat something you know you will regret, you fall into this category. Every time you talk yourself out of exercising, you talk yourself out of a preferred future. Every time you light up a cigarette, lie to your spouse, or spend money you don’t have, you act as if today is in no way connected to tomorrow.
We’ve all heard that experience is the best teacher. But the truth is, about the only think most of us learn from our experience is what to expect when we repeat the same bad decisions. We’ve all said, “I’ll never do that again” about something. We knew what the outcome would be, but we kept going anyway.
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