Our Scripture for today is Proverbs 14:12.
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
“How many legs does a calf have, if you count his tail as a leg?”
Abraham Lincoln once asked his opponent this question. His answer was five. Lincoln corrected him with the answer of four. He said, “Saying that a tail is a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”
Today’s proverb made me think of that old story, because we too often assume a thing to be so, when it is not. Sometimes bad thinking brings no bad results. Sometimes, when we think something is right but it is not, it ends badly.
For example, when the Titanic set sail in 1912, its builders believed it to be “unsinkable.” This belief was not blind but based on state-of-the-art safety features and advanced design. The builders were so confident that they did not even provide enough lifeboats for those who set sail.
You know what happened. The Titanic struck an iceberg, and more than 1,500 people lost their lives in the disaster.
From this proverb, there are four great lessons for our hearts.
1. We must be cautious of our own ways. Seek advice.
2. Deceptive paths can look appealing: The proverb says It “appears” to be right.
3. Don’t trust appearances, look deeper. Sometimes, we want something so badly that we see things that are not there.
4. Examine your choices: Once you have made a decision, take one final look.
Lonnie Davis