Who Are You Listening To?

Isaiah 51:7-8

“Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have taken my instruction to heart:  Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults.   For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool.  But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.”

In the movie “The Sandlot” a young boy wearing glasses is called “Squints”  seems to be the author of a story that has stricken fear into the hearts of the whole gang of boys. It is about a dog who eats people and has been committed to a backyard chained up for life.  What a story and what a load of crap.  That’s right, it was all a load of crap.  All the boys recognize this at the end of the movie.  One of my favorites for sure.  

We can get caught up into some zany things as Christians living our lives listening to all kinds of voices.  We can take it, hook, line and sinker, the advice of friends, parents, and even pastors and run with it like the boys in “The Sandlot ” did with a killer dog story. 

I sometimes wish I could see my life playing out on movie screen, push pause, and go instruct myself to avoid such stupid behavior but that is not how it is done.  More and more we seem to have to live out those decisions and count them as being on the learning curve.  As parents we want our kids to not have to learn the same dumb lessons we had to learn the hard way so we are constantly coaching them.  They can listen or not but one thing is true, we cannot steal the struggle from our kids because it is in those times that they really learn good life lessons. 

The verse in Isaiah says that we should not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults.  Are you there yet?  I mean are you still taking what other people say to heart over what God’s Word says? God says that their insults and reproach will be like a garment eaten at the hand of a moth.  Meaning those people you are listening to who do not fear the Lord and walk with Him daily might be giving you a load of crap!  The boys in the movie had their entire lives wrapped around the story from Squints. 

You could be missing the whole picture but you still are caught in a trap of listening to the wrong crowd.  Good Godly advice only comes from good Godly people who have been walking with the Lord for a long time.  Seek out those people when your life needs some guidance.  They say the only dumb question is the one not asked.  They are right, but you should be careful of who you are asking.  

Prayer: Father, help us to surround ourselves with Godly people every day. I pray that the ungodly ones we have in our inner circle be jettisoned out in Jesus name. I pray that we dive into what your Word says and stand on those promises. In Jesus name, amen