He warned me. For years. He warned me that my temper would catch up with me. It was explosive, that temper. It raged at my own failure, at umpires, at those who didn’t play hard, and many other targets. It raged the day I shattered a finger after being picked off first base (note: throwing batting gloves down at the bench is a guarantee of pain and, possibly, surgery). It raged at umpires in college, leading to three ejections in two years and a damaged reputation. It raged occasionally at players when they didn’t respond to my coaching.

My dad warned me, and I should have listened. It nearly cost me the game I love (surgery on your throwing hand is like that). It cost me the honor and reputation I worked years to build. It cost me, in some cases, the respect of players and fellow coaches when I let it out of control.

But, this post isn’t about your temper or mine. It’s about our stubborn unwillingness to listen to and follow godly advice.

Proverbs 7:24–“Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, and pay attention to the words of my mouth.”

My temper wasn’t the root problem. It was my unwillingness to submit to my dad’s veteran and godly counsel. The writer of Proverbs 7 pointed to the potentially life-altering and irrevocable consequences of giving into a young man’s sinful urges. In fatherly fashion, the writer begs his sons not to give into those urges and instead advises a course of self-control and restraint.

If you have godly veterans in your life, are you listening? Are you paying attention? Or, out of stubborn self-sufficiency, are you ignoring their counsel, believing foolishly that you know best?

Lord Jesus, give me a godly veteran, someone whose advice I can follow, someone whose counsel is based on biblical truth. Remind me to follow them as they follow you. Amen.