After four years of high school baseball, followed by four years of college baseball, I was ready to coach. So I thought. Really, though, I knew it all. I knew the best ways to hit, throw, field, run practice, all of it. I knew it. And, at age 22, I set out to prove it.
I pity the guys I coached and the guys I coached with. They were more patient with me than I deserved. Looking back, I realize I wasn’t nearly as smart as I thought I was.
And, neither are you.
Proverbs 7:7–“…and I saw among the naive, I discerned among the youths, a young man lacking sense…”
The young man mentioned in that verse was seen by an older, wiser man, who watches as the young man follows a destructive path arrogantly and blindly. He naively thinks he knows all he needs to know, and I’m sure he would have enjoyed talking about his solid handle on life and all that goes with it. Yet, he was a fool. He paid no attention to wisdom from those who had walked the path before him. And he paid for it dearly.
What about you? In what areas have you convinced yourself you’ve got it all together, that you have learned all there is to learn? Watch out. You’re about to fall, hard.
You aren’t as smart as you think you are. And, neither am I.
Lord Jesus, I’m arrogant. I admit it. I’m foolish in thinking I know what I need to know. Teach me. Surround me with older and wiser people who love you. Amen.
