Me: "Do y'all have the code readers?"
Her: "Yes, we do."
Me: "Can I come by anytime?"
Her: "Yes. Come before dark, though, because we don't go outside after dark."
You have to be wise and know your surroundings. You have to know the dangers and take practical steps to avoid them.The AutoZone management is wise to have this policy.
Christians have to be wise, too. Life can be a journey through a dark alley. Characters are lurking in the shadows to take advantage of you. Everyone is susceptible to temptation. James wrote to believers that temptation starts not with the tempter but within the tempted. Our own evil desires are the breeding ground for temptation. Our own evil desires are the playground for the tempter.
Satan - the devil - knows how to play the game. He's been doing it for thousands of years. And he's good at it. He knows the weaknesses that are common to us and specific to you. His toolbox is full of gadgets well-worn from use. How it must thrill him to see his tactics work again and again.
So we must be wise. In Proverbs we read, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Prov 4:23). That wellspring should be kept pure by guarding our senses and filtering out the bad stuff. What we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell can get the mind working in the wrong direction. The wellspring is then polluted and we make decisions to take the bait and fall for the temptation.
Guard your heart by bathing it in God's word. Spending some time in the Bible each day is so important. I talk about it a lot and still cannot overstate its importance. It's a "what-goes-in-comes-out" kind of thing. If you fill your mind with God's word then you can easily detect falsehood and steer clear of it. You are less likely to be taken captive by the temptations when scripture is in your heart, on your mind, and rolling off your tongue.
Guard your heart by setting up parameters to keep you from stuff you shouldn't see or hear. We have DirecTV in our home. As I scroll through the channel guide I come across some stuff I don't want my family and me to watch. Do you know that you can block those channels from showing on the guide? By customizing the channel guide I am keeping those options away from my family. That's a simple but effective way to guard our hearts. And you have to have conversations with your children about what is and isn't appropriate and why inappropriate stuff is out there. Start early and hold your ground. I'm not saying that your 16 year old can only watch G-rated movies, but you need to teach her what she can and cannot watch and why. She'll be making more and more decisions on her own and you have to lay the foundation for her good decisions.
Guard your heart by being accountable to others. I need to confess something: I have very few close friends. If you are like me you may feel alone. Alone is good sometimes. Alone can be bad. Alone can lead to depression. Alone can lead to bad choices. You need two or three friends to be accountable with. Talk with them regularly and talk about the tough topics of sexual and financial accountability. Talk about marriage and parenting. Talk about your walk with the Lord. It's just wise to do this.
And don't flirt with temptation. Three steps requires more effort than one. The further away from temptation you stay, the easier it is to stay away from it. Be wise. Guard your heart.
If the neighborhood is dangerous after dark then don't go outside after dark! It just makes sense to me.
photo credit http://24.media.tumblr.com/325af948514420cf7d035f7ba527ce56/tumblr_mhflstkCyk1qhmhdfo1_400.jpg
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