Tip #31: Know the Truth!
A couple of months ago, I bought a few items on eBay (sports coats). As you may know, eBay is always good at suggesting things you're really not looking for. Ebay suggested sports coats that were really inexpensive (like $20). I immediately jumped on them! They were awesome, or so I thought. When my sports coats arrived from China, I opened the box and to my disappointment, my stylish sports coats were made of very poor quality. They looked like Halloween costumes. I was hoodwinked, bamboozled, and just down right deceived. You know why? I based my purchase completely off of what the sports coats looked like online. I didn't read any of the reviews or do much research about the seller. Had I looked a little deeper, I would have noticed the reviews gave a little more insight about the quality of these products.
What I want to say in this tip is that you have to be careful what you "buy into". Many of the decisions you make in life are based on how things appear but you have to dig a little deeper to know the truth. Don't be deceived or fooled by what "glitters". Remember the old saying "all that glitters is not gold"? You don't want to end up as an adult saying things like "I wish I had known...", "I wish someone would have told me...", "If only I hadn't done..." Proverbs 14:12 says it this way "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." Now I'm not trying to spook you at all and, no, I don't think the Bible means that you will literally die in all cases and decisions you make. Every decision you make in life has rewards or consequences. The truth of the matter is you're responsible for your decisions and you can't blame them on anyone else. I encourage you to talk to trusted adults around you because they have actually lived past your age. Most of them know the mistakes they've made and can help you not make the same mistakes. Many of them can also tell you the great rewards they have seen as a result of making good decisions! They have wisdom that can help you know the truth! Trust me.
Written 11/26/2013 by John Weaver