Dear Heavenly Father, how foolish we can be at times, believing things that are put in our path by the devil. He is the father of lies and there is no truth in him. Many are taken by his cunning ways, yet You have prepared a way out for even the simpleminded. Your word brings wisdom and knowledge and those who seek it are wise. From your hand comes understanding and you will not withhold from them that ask. The first step in having a relationship with you is receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. In Him we are complete, in Him we are washed, in Him we are saved, in Him we are forgiven. I thank you Father for giving us your Son, and my desire is to be more like Jesus. For it's in His precious name I pray. Amen.
Wisdom therefore comes from the Lord, and He is not slack in giving it to those who ask. (James 1:5,6) If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
We see many in our world today who are easily led to believe a lie and often fall for those who prey on their simplemindedness. Jim Jones the cult leader is an example of many who were swayed or lured by cunning lies to follow a trail of death, believing what this man said to be true.
The simple on the other hand are easily led astray. They are gullible in believing everything others might throw their way, and consequently they often stumble for lack of direction. They have a hard time distinguishing whether someone is telling the truth or not, for they lack judgment and knowledge.
Now a prudent man or woman looks before they jump (or bowl). They assess the situation and ponder the direction in which they are going. They would never believe in their right mind, that someone would give them a mink coat for knocking down a couple of pins. They are a person who refuses to speak lies or communicate anything evil to others. They know the consequences of sin and their desire is to always do right. So their speech, their steps and their thoughts are always centered on the Lord.
Through many painstaking trials, I have learned not to believe everything others might say. It's a sad affair when we can't trust people. Yet, words are the channel used for communicating what's in our hearts to them. And if that trust is broken because of lies, it's a long road back to restoring that avenue of believing once again.
To give you an example of how simple-minded I was, during the day I bowled on a league with all women; one lady in particular said this to me, "If you make that split, (which was a double pinochle) I will buy you a mink coat." Now anyone in their right mind would know she was pulling my leg, but I thought her words were true and she really meant what she said. So I tried my hardest to knock down all four pins, but failed to do so. I don't remember a lot about bowling in those days, except for how gullible I was even in my early thirties.
Proverbs 14:15
The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
When I was younger, you could say anything to me and I would believe you. I was unlearned and very naïve, even after married life and three children. It never occurred to me that others could be so cruel to deceive those they love or anyone else.
