| The wise in heart accept commands … |
| —from Proverbs 10:8 |
We seem to live in a “Don’t Tell Me What to Do” society today. No one wants to willingly receive any direction.
I have occasion to rather frequently speak with a wide variety of Help Desk technicians, who provide assistance to computer users and other users of technology. These individuals present an equally wide variety of people skills and technical knowledge. Please allow me to illustrate my point:
Many years ago, I had occasion to speak with a woman at the Help Desk of the local telephone company. I was calling because a loud hum had developed in my telephone line. I recognized the hum as an “unwanted ground.” For those of you not familiar with telephony, an “unwanted ground” occurs when something inadvertently creates a path from one side of the telephone circuit to earth ground. This can come from a tree branch rubbing against a telephone cable. It can come from a fault in a piece of equipment. But, most often, it comes from water having gotten into a telephone cable or outdoor piece of telephone equipment.
As I reported my problem to the Help Desk operator, I explained that we had experienced a recent heavy rainstorm. I suggested that perhaps the telephone terminal box at the bottom of the hill had become flooded causing an “unwanted ground.” Instead of receiving my possible explanation of the problem as helpful information, the Help Desk operator gave me a tongue-lashing about leaving such matters up to the telephone company trained technicians.
It took nearly three weeks to resolve the problem, which the on-site technician later described in writing as —you guessed it—an “… unwanted ground due to a damaged seal on the terminal box cover that allowed rain water to enter the terminal box and place an unwanted ground on the circuit.”
I sometimes wonder: “Why won’t we just listen?” Even in our spiritual lives, God has given us specific instructions that we too often ignore. Notice what King Solomon wrote, as recorded in Proverbs 10:8:
The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.
As we begin another new day, let’s remain open to every instruction we receive from God through His precious written Word. Let’s receive with joy God’s commands. And, let’s turn away from becoming chattering fools.
