We've probably all read articles or seen television programs that reveal ordinary people doing incredibly dumb things. It seems to be a part of our human nature that we find great humor in watching our fellow man fall flat on his face. Perhaps it's that awful weakness in us that needs to see other's make mistakes in order to feel better about ourselves.
A few years ago I remember seeing a show about people who'd been caught on camera perpetrating some unbelievably stupid crimes. At the time I remember thinking, "Surely no one could be that dense!"
Well I did think that up until recently, when my niece, Corinne, told me this story.
As much as technology has changed since I was a teenager, so has the High School scene. Now days it's quite common for most students to carry a mobile phone with them each day alongside their pens, notebooks and lunch. Corinne's school is no exception to the rule.
Recently, during a meal break, one of the students found that her wallet and phone had been stolen from her bag. In a school the size of this one, it would be a fairly safe assumption that this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. In fact, it was probably fairly common. Bags left lying outside classrooms are an open invitation to anyone passing by to come and take their pick. No temptation to an honest person, but not everyone falls into that category.
However, this young lady didn't just give up without a fight. She showed her common sense by doing one very simple thing. She rang her mobile number.
After a few rings, a voice answered. "Yeah? Hello?"
"Hello," our heroine responded. "Who's this?"
The voice on the other end immediately replied, "No, who's this?"
Undaunted, the girl didn't falter. "No, you tell me. Who are you?"
It was right at that moment when her calm, clear thinking won the day.
Without too much thought, the boy on the other end of the line blurted out his name and then said, "Now come on, who's this?"
"THIS is the girl whose phone you stole!"
"Oh my goodness!" came the horrified response across the air-waves, just before the call was suddenly disconnected.
To be honest, he actually used a very colorful expletive that wouldn't really be very appropriate for a Breath of Fresh Air article!
Our clever student contacted the Principal of the School, and the thief and his gang were brought in for questioning straight away, with all stolen property returned to its rightful owner.
As Corinne told me the story, I started to laugh. It was like seeing the truth of Solomon's Proverb come to life.
Being a criminal is bad enough, but to compound it with foolishness just makes matters worse.
Most of us would hate to be considered a foolish person - someone lacking in commonsense, good judgment, discretion and discernment. Yet, I imagine that each of us have had times where we've slipped into behavior that hasn't shown us at our most intelligent. Or am I the only one?
From the time I became a Christian, all I wanted to do was live a life that was according to His ways, not mine. Then I discovered an incredible promise:
My immediate reaction was, "Yes please!"
I wanted to leave my foolish behavior behind. Instead of acting impulsively and compulsively, I longed to actively apply the knowledge of God to my life. After all, that's what wisdom is.
God's been so very faithful over the years and has continued to answer my prayers for this to be a reality in my life. Yet, the first and greatest truth He revealed to me was in Psalm 111:10
Until we stand in awe of our Mighty God and give Him the reverence and worship that He alone deserves, we'll never know what it is to live in His wisdom. Until we've immersed ourselves in the teaching that comes from the Holy Bible, we'll never have the knowledge of how to walk in His ways.
Thinking back to our foolish thief, is it any wonder that he totally lacked sense? If a person has no fear of God and His righteousness, how can they ever know the wisdom that comes only from Him? Maybe this teenager isn't able to receive that depth of understanding, but we certainly can!
If you feel that you're lacking in this way, ask God for His wisdom to be revealed in your life today. That's a request we can be confident He'll always grant!
Copyright © 2001-2003 Debbie Porter - Breath of Fresh Air. All rights reserved.
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