How many things that look like a good idea at first don’t look as great when you see them from a different point of view?
If everything was as it appeared, no one would ever be fooled.
Eve thought eating a piece of fruit to make her knowledgeable was a good idea. King Hezekiah thought showing off his treasury was a good idea. King David thought Bethseba was a good idea. Delilah looked good to Sampson. Judas thought 30 pieces of silver was a nice trade. Goliath thought David was an easy match.
The truth is, you can’t always tell right away if something is good or not, especially if that thing is something you like.
I was in a store the other day, and saw Electroman and Hubman, two electronic adapters that are supposed to make plugging in a lot of electrical things very safe. The problem is, from a kid’s perspective, they look like toys that would be fun to play with! Why in the world would anyone make an electric plugin look like a toy? Have manufacturers considered the danger? I wonder how many kids have been shocked by these things. Or pets? They look like excellent pet toys. My dog Bailey would love to chew on these.
Maybe Electroman and Hubman are great for adults, but for kids and pets, they are accidents waiting to happen.
I have a friend named Mary who went into a pet store a few months back. In the pet store, a bird was going crazy, squawking, shrieking, and flapping its wings. No one could figure out why. Then the owner of the pet store came over to take a closer look. Coiled inside the bottom of the bird cage was a completely white, camouflaged snake trying to strike at the bird. It had gotten out of its tank and somehow made its way into the bird’s cage. At first glance, everything appeared to be fine. The bird cage looked normal and you couldn’t tell that anything was wrong, but when you looked at it again with new eyes, a danger you didn’t see before suddenly became obvious.
Sometimes, in order to see danger, you have to discern it. Discerning is seeing the not-so-obvious by paying attention to what your heart says. It is a combination of feeling, knowing, suspecting, and looking with your spirit. Once you use this kind of sight, you can see things more clearly.
