My seventh grade principal stood before a crowd of wiggly prepubescent boys and girls and in a loud, yet calm voice challenged us to, “Think before you act.” That advice somehow found a way into one of my brain membranes and stuck. It’s something I’m working very hard at teaching my children. Impulse is a deliriously controlling beast. It is fun to act on impulse all of the time, but that’s not how we are called to act. Tell that to the same brain membrane that memorized the words from my seventh grade principal.
I love spontaneity, as do children. It’s simply a part of their makeup. Apparently I never lost the childish desire to act upon any ole thing I feel. It’s something I need to work on. And so, when I encourage my children in this wisdom, I’ve discovered a verse to teach from.
Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Haggai 1:5-6
What’s the lesson? God instructs us to think about our ways (how we act.) Further, He explains how we’ve invested in certain things that aren’t reaping benefits. This should be a clue to us that we haven’t given enough thought or prayer perhaps before we jumped in cannonball-style. I absolutely love when I find Scripture that lines up with something not only am I trying to instill in my children, but something God is fervently trying to impress upon my own heart.