Series: Wisdom That Works
Message: Responsibility, Opportunity, and Unity
Preacher: Dena King
Reflection: Mark Witas
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Jessyka Dooley
Live Beyond: J. Murdock
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Proverbs 6:1-19 in the New Living Translation (NLT). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: “Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler” (Proverbs 6:5).
Getting out of a bad decision can be hard sometimes. It’s impossible to see every outcome of a deal. Sometimes buyer’s remorse isn’t because you didn’t do due diligence; sometimes unforeseen things just happen.
I once knew a person who purchased a new vehicle at a reputable car dealership. (I know, that sounds like an oxymoron.) He had read consumer reports, test driven the vehicle, negotiated a fair price and took out a partial loan after putting a couple thousand dollars down. He loved his new red car.
Then a knob on his dashboard came off. Then there was a rattle coming from somewhere. Not long after that, the car started overheating. For no good reason. Then a fuse blew.
For the first month, the car was in the shop more than it was in my friend’s driveway. Finally, he had enough and marched into the general manager’s office to demand a refund. After much hemming and hawing, shoulder shrugging, and double talking, my friend was told that he was stuck with his purchase.
So, in a brilliant move, my friend painted a big lemon on each side of the car along with the words, “I bought this lemon at Sunshine Chevrolet; ask about how bad they are.”
He drove the car around the small town for three weeks before he got the call. “Mr. Culpepper, we’d like to offer you your money back and we’ll go ahead and take the car.”
The Wisdom Writer warns against making unwise financial decisions. He also realizes that sometimes we get ourselves into things that we didn’t see coming. In these cases, it’s his advice for his reader to get out of the bad deal by any means possible; like a gazelle from a hunter, or a bird from the snare.
Recalibrate: When was the last time you had buyer’s remorse? What did you learn from the experience?
Respond: Pray these words: “Jesus, give me the eyes to see all angles in the decisions I make. Help me to be honest with others and give me pure motives in my purchases.”
Research: Read How to Avoid Buyer’s Remorse by Zachary Crockett.
Remember: “For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light and the corrections of disciplines are the way to life” (Proverbs 6:23, NIV).
Mark Witas is the lead pastor at Sunnyside Adventist Church in Portland, Oregon.
If your child is able, play a game of Tag with them. Mix it up with Hide and Seek. Hide and run and tag and take turns in doing the searching, chasing and tagging. Playing is the best way to learn. We learn how to play better when we lose. We find better places to hide; we learn to duck and weave so we don’t get caught. The Proverbs writer gives us good life/game experience in Chapter 6—ways to avoid getting caught in uncomfortable financial circumstances. Listen and learn; this is what wisdom does.
How serious is it if you make a promise to someone? The Bible tells us that it’s super serious. You never want to break a promise. Proverbs talks about asking to be freed from your promises. Proverbs 6:5 says, “Free yourself like a deer running from a hunter. Free yourself like a bird flying away from a trapper.” Can you draw a picture of a deer and a bird running and flying away?
Here in Colorado, we have had some strange weather in the past month. A few weeks ago we got a foot of snow followed by a week of freezing temperatures which kept the snow and ice from thawing on roads and sidewalks. All the little creatures that are usually scurrying around found their way underground to escape the winter weather. It must have been quite a shock since it’s still only fall here in the States! It made me wonder whether or not the squirrels panicked a bit wondering whether the stash of food they’d collected would be enough. Perhaps they’re not quite fat enough yet to keep the chill off of their skin, and not quite prepared enough to get through the season ahead without starving to death. What went through their little squirrel brains? Luckily for them, the week of snow and ice was replaced with unusually warm weather and sunny days. Hope was restored as the mammals re-emerged ready to get back to work. I swear that it seems like the squirrels are working even harder now, as if determined not to be left out in the cold again!
As winter moves closer and the regular sunny weather is replaced with prolonged blustery conditions, there will come a point when the squirrels will be out of luck if they haven’t prepared properly. Much like the ant that Solomon describes in Proverbs 6:6-11.
What is something you see coming up ahead that you need to be prepared for? How can you start getting ready right now so that you aren’t caught by surprise when the due date nears? How might being wise with your time now provide you with less stress later?
Have you ever felt unprepared for a test? When I took the ACT, a common placement test for college in the U.S., I did not study at all! After taking the test, I went to my room and felt like I was going crazy. I knew the test was going to turn out very badly, and it did!
It can be easy to feel unprepared in life. What are some things you are anticipating right now? Are you thinking about college? A date? A new job? Don’t let it sneak up on you. Prepare! God calls us to be prepared. Things will happen that are out of our control, but don’t let that stop you from planning for tomorrow. You will find that you will be much more at peace when you plan for tomorrow and trust Jesus with it.
Zan Long is GRC director for faith development for ages 0-17. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and serves at her local church in nearby Kellyville.
Jessyka Dooley is assistant youth director for the Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Denver, Colorado.
J. Murdock is associate pastor at Boulder Adventist Church in Boulder, Colorado, where he focuses on youth and young adult ministry.
Kyle Smith is the associate pastor of youth and family ministries at New Haven Adventist Church in Overland Park, Kansas.