My wife, Rhonda, and I recently had the privilege of cruising through the Greek islands with close friends. While on the beach on the island of Rhodes, I decided to try to take some underwater pictures with my cell phone. When I declared my intention, my friends stated: Your phone can do that! At least, that's what I heard.
So, with the confidence of my desire and my friends' affirmation (so I thought), I marched into the water, stuck the camera end of my phone under the surface and snapped a picture – and it worked! Thus further encouraged, I dipped my phone again into the beautifully blue Mediterranean Sea for another shot – only this time, my phone made a weird buzzing sound, a jagged green line shot across the screen and my phone shut down, never to be operational again. As I returned to Rhonda and our friends, lamenting that I had damaged my phone, probably beyond repair, they expressed amazement at what I had done. But you said my phone could take underwater pictures! I cried. To which they replied, what we said was: Your phone can do that? Implying their serious doubt about my phone's underwater capabilities.
This funny and embarrassing story is a perfect example of hearing what we want to hear in order to affirm an action or pursue a desired goal. In my excitement to capture the beauty of the underwater world I was experiencing, I latched on to anything – no matter how dubious – that bolstered my desire and confirmed my intention.
I do this with Google Maps, too, which I use regularly. While utilizing Maps, I frequently have it in my head which direction to turn next. And even though I hear the Google voice stating loud and clear, In 200 feet, turn left; I turn right, fully convinced that I am following Google's directions.
Destroying a cell phone or having to be re-routed by Google are relatively minor annoyances compared to the damage done or the opportunities missed by hearing what we want to hear or relying on what we think we know.
Traditionally attributed to King Solomon, the book of Proverbs in the Bible has much to say about listening and learning, wisdom and folly. In Proverbs 3:5-6, King Solomon exhorts his son to Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Then, in Proverbs 16:25, he says: There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. In these two verses, we have a promise and a warning – a promise of life for those who seek the Lord and his ways and a warning of dire consequences for those who seek their own way and trust in their own wisdom.
Then, as we move to the New Testament, we encounter Jesus, who calls us to follow him and claims to be the Way to life (John 14:6). Then, Jesus' person and words are affirmed by God as recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, where at the Mount of Transfiguration, God says to Peter, James and John, This is my son, whom I love, listen to him, (Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35).
As we head into the unknown of a new year with all our hopes, fears and desires, and amid the growing number of voices seeking our attention, it might be a good time to reflect on how well we are listening and to which voices we are paying attention to – our own, our friends, the media, or the Lord. And to state the obvious, the instructions or directions we follow are only as reliable as their source.
The importance of reliable sources of direction brings me back to my Google Maps illustration. We recently bought a new, used car. Along with all of the modern bells and whistles today's cars come with, ours came with a built-in navigation system. My enthusiasm for this feature waned rapidly, however, when, one of the first times I used it, the navigating voice instructed me to proceed straight across a busy street that was bisected by a concrete median. This navigational faux pas was followed by others, which quickly demonstrated that the car's system was no match for Google Maps and that it was hardly worth the subscription fee to continue using it.
As Rhonda and I enjoy our three small grandchildren, we are once again encountering a child's desire to do things by themselves or to do what they want without the frustrating interference of the big people in the room. While it is natural and appropriate for the growth of a child to explore and attempt new things as they grow, it is also imperative for their well-being to learn to listen to and trust the voices of their parents and other elders. In fact, their very lives depend on it.
The truth is, we never outgrow the need to listen to those older and wiser than we are. And in a world filled with self-help books, podcasts, and life coaches (many of whom are quite young), maybe it's time to heed the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who said many centuries ago: This is what the Lord says: Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. And, echoing Jeremiah, Jesus famously said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
As we head into 2025, will we follow the lead of Frank Sinatra, who beautifully, yet seductively, crooned, I did it my way? Will we tune into our favorite news or social media feeds or seek advice from the latest pop guru? Or, will we seek the ancient ways and attune our ears to and learn to trust the wisdom and warnings that have been passed down through the centuries, especially in the Scriptures and specifically in the words and way of Jesus, who stated clearly that his words and actions were not his own, but directed by his Father, (John 5:19; 14:24). And, who regularly ended his parables with the admonition, Whoever has ears, let them hear.
—Pastor Scott