What happens to both prisoners, ex-offenders, and people in general, we spend our lives vacuuming shadows.
When prisoners discover the truth of the Bible, they stop being fooled by shadows.
“It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, not to be hasty and miss the way.” Proverbs 19:2
My wife and I were having some remodeling done on our home. Furniture had to be moved from the family room into the living room. As the furniture was being moved out of the living room and back to the family room, I noticed what I thought were stains on the carpet. I got a bit upset as I thought about what I perceived was carelessness on the part of the workers. Stains on the carpet weren’t acceptable. My frustration built as I first brushed the stains with my hands and then vacuumed without any apparent removal of the stains. As my wife entered the room, exasperated, I pointed out the stains to her. Quickly assessing the situation, she calmly responded, “Dear, it’s simply the shadows from the plants sitting on the countertop.” She repositioned the plants and the stains disappeared.
In haste, I had made an inaccurate assessment and found myself angrily vacuuming shadows. I didn’t take the time to recall this Wisdom Nugget, “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, not to be hasty and miss the way.” Proverbs 19:2 NIV. Isn’t that what we do in many of life's situations? We hastily make assumptions, draw conclusions, and even bring judgment on shadows believed to be real. We spend a great deal of life angrily vacuuming what appears to be stains instead of taking the simple remedy of repositioning a person or thing that’s casting shadows. Wisdom people quickly assess the shadows in their life, and refuse to spend time and energy vacuuming illusive stains. I suggest you do the same today.
Comments