Heeding a Warning

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Not long ago, I wanted to kick myself. I had ignored repeated warning signs and was finally suffering the consequences.

For at least a year, the clasp on my watch hadn’t worked properly. It often popped open when I was completely unaware of it. I might glance down at my wrist only to see my watch hanging on by its fingertips. Other times, it actually fell off.

I knew I needed to get the watch fixed. That was plain to see. Several times I even said to myself, “I’m going to lose this watch.”

So what did I do? I kept ignoring the warning signs. When all common sense told me not to wear the watch until I got it fixed, I daily slipped it on my wrist and ran the risk of losing it. I didn’t have time to go by the jeweler’s, plus I needed my watch to let me know just how little time I had.

The odds finally beat me. While moving furniture and cleaning one day, I lifted my wrist to check the time. My watch was gone. I had finally done it. I’d lost my watch.

After I, along with two other family members, made a careful search, the watch was still AWOL. Yes, I had to suffer the consequences. Since I rely on my watch a lot, its absence reminded me of my careless and foolish neglect several times a day.

Not heeding warning signs in other areas of life can bring about much more serious consequences than a lost timepiece, though. Our region dealt with quite a few tornado warnings a few weeks ago. I hate to admit it, but having grown up in this area, I don’t always take the warnings as seriously as I should. Sometimes when it’s too inconvenient to get in the car and go seek an underground shelter, I hunker down in our interior bathroom. When the big tornadoes hit, though, above ground shelter is insufficient. I need to fully heed the warnings.

Is there a warning sign that’s been trying to get your attention? Feel free to learn from my mistakes and save yourself from some unhappy consequences. Let’s heed the warnings God graciously gives.

“A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” Proverbs 22:3

*Have you ever had to suffer the consequences of ignoring a warning?

*Flickr photo by Ian Sane

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