Warning!

Marilyn Appleby

We are surrounded by warnings of one kind or another aren’t we? It could be warnings about road conditions, unsafe substances, the dangers of smoking, tide times, whether or not it is safe to swim in the sea, crumbling cliffs, UV levels, and so on.

Everyday we can expect to encounter warnings—things to avoid or things to do. If we are sensible we heed those warnings because those warnings are there to keep us safe or to make life better or easier.

Of course, the Bible is full of warnings and advice, for example wisdom from the book of Proverbs, warnings from the prophets, and guidance from the teaching of Jesus. We would do well to take those things seriously and to do so immediately rather than wait until a ’suitable’ or ’convenient’ time. By then it may be too late!

The warnings we find in the Bible can be very challenging, but just as we may have quoted to our children at some point in their lives: ‘It’s for your own good!’, so too are those Biblical warnings for our own good!