Proverbs 10:17

The one who heeds instruction is on the way to life,
but the one who rejects rebuke goes astray.

I used to deliver pizzas while I was in High School at a great place called Cardo’s. It was a great job for a kid in high school. You get to drive around in a car all day. You get to eat pizza all the time. You get tips from people for driving pizza to their house. You get to listen to music you like while you’re driving around.

The downside (for the owner) was that we were driving the restaurant’s cars and we didn’t always have the best judgement. There were accidents that happened from time to time and other bad judgement calls. I made one of those once.

We had gotten a lot of rain one day I was working and there was some flooding in parts of town. Down around the intersection of Burlington Rd. and E. Huron St. I was coming down the hill on Burlington Rd. and came to a sign that said “High Water.” Well, at this particular intersection, there’s not a real good way around to get back to the store quickly. We were always in a hurry.

I thought I knew how deep the water was, so I decided to drive through. That was a BAD IDEA! The water was much deeper than I had anticipated. The road dipped down before it went up to a bridge that went over the flooded creek. I could see the bridge which just barely had water running over it. So I figured I could get up on the bridge.

I did get on the bridge, but I wasn’t sure I could go any further. I didn’t want to call in my idiocy to the store, so I sat there for a while trying to figure out what to do. A City of Jackson pick-up truck came behind me on the bridge. After a not-so-light scolding, he told me to follow him through the high water and up the other side. He thought the truck would help lower the water so I could get out. The only problem, this wasn’t snow! The water came right back to where I was. Thanks for the help buddy. Would’ve been better to tow me through the water without the engine on.

I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through. The engine really started to sputter and run really rough. Probably because part of it was under water. But just as the engine was about to shut off, I got up out of the water and the engine worked the water out of it’s system and I was safe. I did not confess this to my boss as the car ran fine the rest of the day. If you’re reading this John, I’m sorry.

The thing is…THERE WAS A SIGN! The sign was there for a reason. It’s probably not a good idea to drive a little Ford fiesta through flood waters. It’s probably not a good idea to submerge an internal combustion engine in water. It’s probably not a good idea to drive a car that sits a few inches off the ground into a few feet of water.

I’m sure you’ve done something similar in your life. The thing is, if we want to be wise, we must heed the warning signs we see. When someone gives us wise advice, we should listen. When we know something we are going to do is in conflict with God’s word, we shouldn’t do it. Even if we think we’ll be okay.

The water may not look deep, but it’s guaranteed to make your engine sputter.