“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Ephesians 5:11

Visiting folks at their work in the industrial part of town, I parked ‘off road’ and headed in to say hello. On the side of the road I noticed an old nickel laying there, so I stopped and picked it up. Upon inspection it turned out to be a plug from an electrical box and not worth a penny. Coming out, I went the opposite way to get into my truck, and as I rounded the front and looked down, I was facing a beggertick plant. And yes… I KNEW what I was facing!

I’d like to say I was smart enough to go around the truck to avoid the weeds. I KNEW that walking through them came with the certainty of picking up hitchhikers – those annoying, stabby, little plant stickers that so easily latch on to socks and shoelaces. I actually paused to think about it (yea me)! Then I ‘pranced’ right through them! Do you now have a mental picture of me ‘prancing?’ I paid the price for prancing as, all morning long, I picked those things out of my socks!

The point is this. I didn’t KNOW that the nickel wasn’t a nickle. I only wasted 3 seconds of my life choosing to pick up something the was worthless. But I KNEW what that plant would do to me if I stepped in it. I actually FIGURED that it would only take a few seconds to pick them off! BUT… it would save me time in backtracking. I figured wrong!

My wife loves butterflies, and she once actually wanted to BUY and INSTALL this plant in our yard. She read somewhere that butterflies LOVE the flowers of this prickly plant! When she proposed the idea, I did a quick figure and said… “NO!” NO WAY was I going to live WITH that irritating bush. I could not calculate the time I would waste picking prickers as the plant grew bigger in my own yard! Even if it brought a MILLION Butterflies. It wasn’t worth the price!

Why do we KNOW what is bad for us, and yet proceed? Notice I said ‘WE.’ You see, it helps to include YOU into my sick, unreasonable mind, because then I don’t really FEEL as bad if I was dumb all by myself! See how that works? But the bottom line is, I AM responsible for my OWN decisions. And blaming YOU for previously stealing a cookie out of the cookie jar, AFTER I have been caught, just somehow makes my bad choice seem not SO bad! But that logic doesn’t work either!

One more time I think I will let the butterflies have the briers. I’m committed to learn from my ‘prancing’ and avoid prickly plants. BUT… I’m 63! Somehow I have a feeling that I’m PROBABLY going to prance again! Yes… I am that dumb!!! Thank GOD I have a Savior! Now, will you please erase the prancing image from your mind? Because God did! Thank you!