My dear readers,

Think Before You Act!

Proverbs 13:16: “Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.”

To be prudent is to be judicious in everything we say and do. We all like to think we are prudent in all matters of life. However, the opposite of what we think about ourselves is usually true. How often have we regretted what we said in moments of jest to make others laugh or of anger with vengeful retaliation, even against loved ones? Many actions need not have been done but cannot be undone, from over-disciplining our beloved children in a moment of rash anger to foolish actions in workplaces because we succumbed to peer pressure like drinking alcohol when we know we should not or laughing at unsavoury jokes to please men at the expense of our holy witness for Christ. The regrets are too many to count. The older we get, the more regrets we may add to our list.

It appears that age and wisdom are fellow travellers in life. But the latter lags far behind in many cases as the former marches speedily on. Hence, the wise saying of God: “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness” (Prov 16:31). God’s children must not think they are “prudent”, but they must, in reality, be prudent. The name of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is at stake, and the spiritual well-being of the souls of men, women and children who see their manner of life depends on their prudence.

What is a prudent man? – The prudent man deals with knowledge. He deals first with the knowledge of God before he deals with the knowledge of man. The knowledge of man is fraught with truth and errors. Man’s knowledge that has truth and mixed with as few errors as possible is the most deadly to deceive the gullible. The knowledge of God is found in the Bible only. With the knowledge of God first in his mind and obeyed in his life, he has the right frame of reference to evaluate all of man’s knowledge. He possesses the mind of God and God’s Word. The more he studies God’s Word, the more he will think like God and the wiser he will be.

But is God’s Word comprehensive enough to deal with all of life’s struggles? Moses, who was regarded as God’s most faithful servant in the Old Testament, said that the Word of God is enough because God knows all things that every man will encounter in every age and culture, without exception. Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

God’s children are born again with the mind of Christ to understand every jot and tittle of God’s holy and perfect Word of Life. To understand means to be able to interpret accurately what God’s Word teaches so that they can obey. The knowledge they have gained from God’s Word must be reflected in their lives consistently. If their lives have not been transformed, then they are not prudent. How can they be prudent if they have all the knowledge to enter the kingdom of heaven and yet choose to live and die in sin?

To be prudent is not putting a piece of paper with the words “be prudent” on a wall. It is more than giving sound biblical advice to others. Such biblical advice will be rejected if the counsellor is living in sin. He appears prudent by his words until his sins find him and expose him to be a hypocrite. Then, all who listened to him will throw him and his biblical counsel out the window, like “throwing the baby out with the bath water”!

Every prudent man deals with, i.e. doeth, knowledge. Knowledge refers to God’s Word; it is the only knowledge on earth that will remain when God destroys this world by fire. If he knows God’s Word (as he claims), he must be prudent as it is clear evidence of his salvation in Christ. His thirst and hunger for God’s Word cannot be fully satisfied in the sense that he keeps “eating and drinking” it. He has experienced the blessedness of walking in the light of God’s Holy Word step by step and applying it to every facet of his life, resulting in a divine transformation in all his relationships – with God, the Bible, his possessions, loved ones, friends, foes and others. How can he not be prudent in all his doings on a daily basis?

What is the tragic alternative? – If God’s children are not prudent, the tragic alternative is that they are fools. They might not even be born again as God’s children if they lay open their follies.

To “lay open” means to break apart, like a person cracking open a walnut!

• Their Thinking – How they think is revealed through their many wayward and man-centred decisions. Their Bible knowledge is absent from their reasoning. They make blunder after blunder without realizing their mistakes. They regard their foolish decisions as biblical when they are entirely carnal. The result is broken relationships, turning friends into foes, and brothers and sisters-in-Christ turning their backs on them due to their recalcitrant behaviour. To protect their foolishness from being exposed, they surround themselves with “yes men” who will continually fan their pride and ego.

• Their Motivation – Self-interest and personal aggrandisement control their motives. An outward show of piety deceptively masks their inward fear and hypocrisy. They are fearful of being rebuked as that might expose their inner demons. The slightest hint of constructive criticism triggers an inward defensive mechanism for self-preservation. An image and aura of righteousness must not be tarnished, not even in the slightest. They spent a lifetime sewing their garment of “righteousness”, using the colourful thread of biblical righteousness to deceive others, including their loved ones closest to them. Serving Christ allows them to keep their deceptive garment on, ever fearing exposure. They are fools because the only Person they need to be most afraid of will judge their true state upon the end of their earthly journey.

• Their Deeds – Decisions are made out of expediency rather than righteousness and what is orderly and lawful. Their deeds have the façade of biblical righteousness, but the inner demon of SELF will keep haunting them, so that in the silence of the night they lay awake, struggling to find peace in their souls. The Word of God that once pricked their hardened hearts has lost its double-edged potency because of the repetitive obstinacy of heart and mind. They are like the old Pharaoh of Moses’ time who hardened his own heart until God hardened his heart permanently. Joy is lost as their deeds are done more robotically, knowing deep down that they need to repent and stop their lifetime hypocrisy but unable to do so for fear of losing the reputation they have carved for themselves on the delusional wall of fame commonly found in the world.

The fool is the one who commits the act of “laying open” his follies. No one can force him. The consequence is the stumbling of others who once thought he was godly but now see him for what he truly is: a fool. He destroys the holy image of Christ in his life and, sadly, might cost others who believed in his teaching to cast him away, as well as “throw the baby out with the bath water” because they might (to their own hurt) cast away the doctrines too.

Will you think before you act? Actions not thought through will reveal whether we are prudent or fools.