Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK

“Close Enough for Horseshoes and Hand-Grenades”
“He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.” – Proberbs 7:8

In sports the adage “close is not good enough” is often the truth. In football, a field goal is only counted when the ball goes through the uprights. If it misses by mere inches on one side or the other it does not count and it could cost the team the game. Close is not good enough. In baseball, a mere inch can determine whether a ball is fair or foul, whether it is a ball or a strike, whether a runner is safe or out. Close is not good enough. In basketball, a mere fraction of an inch may be the difference of the ball going through the rim or bouncing out. It is about precision. However, in the game of horseshoes, close does count and the goal is to get closer than your opponent. I’m not certain that attempting to visualize “hand-grenades” would be all that productive—but let’s just say that precision is not altogether necessary for them to be “effective.” Which is what I believe Solomon is trying to say in this verse: It was where he (the young man) was headed that was the problem and where he was headed was a formula for disaster! For some reason, these words of Paul came to my mind as I was reading through this:
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” - 2nd Corinthians 6:14-17

It recently came to my attention that when God delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians He had them leave that country for a place they would call their own. The thought occurred to me that the moment Pharaoh said, “You’re free,” it literally meant, they were free. Redeemed. They were no longer slaves and no longer were under the oppression of the Egyptians. So why leave? Why not stay where they were and make a nice home for themselves right there in the land of Egypt? Why pack up all of their belongings and trek the many miles to…to…”Where are we going anyway?” Because they did not belong there! The Egyptians worshiped that which was not God, and thus by them staying in that place: their close proximity to the evil that was there would make it difficult if not impossible to serve God with their whole hearts.
In the process of their journey to Canaan, God provided everything they needed—that He was indeed, Jehovah Jirah. (Provider-God) When they needed direction…He was a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When they needed food He sent them bread and quail. He was what they needed. And…He is what we all need!
“Come near to God and he will come near to you…” – James 4:8
When it comes to our relationship with God—it is not necessarily about “precision,” but purpose. It is a choice we consciously make to get closer to Him. To walk with Him. To be where He is—which is why the verse in Corinthians has legs! Translation: we cannot be close to God if we are wandering down the wrong street! To get “close to the house of the immoral woman” is to get too close to problems and step further away from the place where God wants and needs us. Stay away from “her house!” Do not get remotely close, for unlike the game of horseshoes—hand grenades are deadly, and do not discriminate. Stay close to God—always!
Pastor J. T. Carnell