20 My son, pay attention to my words.
Bend your ear to my speech.
21 Don’t let them slip from your sight.
Guard them in your mind.
22 They are life to those who find them,
and healing for their entire body.
23 More than anything you guard, protect your mind, for life flows from it.
24 Have nothing to do with a corrupt mouth;
keep devious lips far from you.
25 Focus your eyes straight ahead;
keep your gaze on what is in front of you.
26 Watch your feet on the way,
and all your paths will be secure.
27 Don’t deviate a bit to the right or the left;
turn your feet away from evil.
Reflection
“GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT LIEUTENANT!” Many years later, I can still clearly hear these words (shouted, of course) from my Field Artillery Officer Basic Course Instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was reinforcing the importance of accurate, clear, and concise communication when leading a fire direction team, whose mission is to quickly and precisely calculate the direction and range of firing, based upon the communicated target location from the forward observer, and transmit this information to the cannon team. Any breakdown or loss of focus in this process can lead to very bad results, both in training and “real world” scenarios. Like many lessons I learned during my military service, this has helped me in different areas of my life, especially with my spiritual well-being.
Today’s passage from Proverbs warns us that we are to “protect our mind, for life flows from it.” We need to be careful about the things we allow to enter our minds, whether that is from things we read, things we listen to, things we watch, or people we surround ourselves with. If we allow garbage in, we can expect garbage out. Also, there are countless things in this world that are trying to disconnect our communication with God, and it is easy for us to get off track and disoriented. So, as our passage today tells us, we must focus our gaze on God. We do this by constantly interacting with God. Whether that is through regular devotional time, reading scripture, worship, meeting with other believers, or just taking some centering deep breaths whenever we need and asking God for wisdom, direction, and peace.
Just like a Field Artillery Fire Direction Team needs to focus and get clear communication to be successful in their mission, we need to focus and listen to how God is communicating with us if we are to live the life God has made us for. May this be our focus today and every day.
by Manny Estevez
For Pondering and Prayer
What things interfere with your communication with God? Are there ways you can reduce or eliminate these distractions this year?
Prayer: God of all wisdom and peace, as we begin this New Year, we ask that you give us the wisdom and peace that we need so that we can tune out the distractions around us and focus on the ways you are communicating and leading us in this world. Amen!
P.S. – Happy 21st Wedding Anniversary to my beautiful wife Andrea. I love you!
