Psalm 35:7 Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a
pit for me.
When I was about ten years old, my brother Andy, a few friends and I dug a pit
on a waste piece of ground. It was about three feet deep and at the bottom was a
puddle of oily water. We thought it looked great and started to cover it up with
sticks, tree branches, and grass. We relished in the idea of someone innocently
coming along and falling into it. All morning, we waited in ambush in the deep
grass surrounding the pit, ready to rush out and whoop like savages if someone
got caught in it. But nothing happened. No one passed by. No one came our way.
So, we decided to call one of Andy's friends, who lived about a mile away, to
get him to come with us to the pit and cause him to fall in. We enticed Robert
to come by promising him that he'd be part of a wonderful surprise. Robert
eagerly took the bait and jumped on a double decker bus to get to us. Within
fifteen minutes, Robert would be walking over the pit and we would be laughing
at his predicament.
But it never happened. Robert was so eager to be with us that when he left the
bus, he ran in front of it and got hit by a passing taxi. His hip and both his
legs were badly broken. He spent three months in hospital and it took him
another six months to fully recover. Andy and I still share the shame and guilt
of that terrible day, when Robert almost lost his life because of our stupid
prank.
There are times when we do things recklessly and seek to get our own way, which
ultimately brings harm, hurt and pain to other people. As Christians, we need to
filter our decisions and actions through the Spirit of God, in order to do the
right thing and not be led astray by our own vanity, pride, and bad behavior.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, keep us from foolish choices and selfish actions. Help us to
rely upon Your Spirit to guide and direct us today. Deliver us from the pits of
self-deception and lead us on Your holy path. In Your name, we pray. Amen.
John Stuart traqair@aol.com
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
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