I told you so

Well, another football season is officially over. Last evening the New England Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21. It was a good game for the duration. Probably not as good at when the Rams won a few years ago but better than others. The first half seemed very defense oriented while the second half seemed to be dominated by offense. Both teams looked very even down the stretch by it seemed like the Eagles started losing a bit of ground later in the 3rd quarter and let NE get a little too far out of reach. However, McNabb and his team looked set to go down the field and tie in the last minute, but they failed as he threw an interception. It was a good year for both teams. The Eagle's trip to the Super Bowl was probably more exciting than the Pats, but Tom Brady and Bill Belichick's team were consistent and underrated all season. It's hard around here to hear much else besides a certain local pro team with a record-setting QB and a high scoring offense, but there are other stories in the NFL. I'm a big underdog fan. I love to see the new guy beat the seasoned pro, the farm kid beat the big city kid. Be that as it may, because there was plenty of chances for a Cinderella story this year, I just had a feeling that the Patriots couldn't be beat. Sorry, Indy fans. Sorry Peyton and Ben. Maybe next year. But pending on how the Patriots' home office treats their guys in the offseason, maybe not. But what do I know about football. I'm a cyclist.

Proverbs 7:7 says, "I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgement". I have commented on this passage before but have, until now, taken this basically as a whole. This time I'm going to look at this characteristic of our poor, unfortunate youth. The verse says he "lacked judgement". This leads us to believe a number of things. First of all, this kid's hanging with the wrong crowd. The author finds him among the "simple" (birds of a feather, right?). Unfortunately, he's off to a bad start and is getting helped along by others on the same bad start. Second, he's in the wrong place. If you'll read on, you will find that he is near the corner of the adulterous woman. Some might argue, probably more out of defending this guy's position because they themselves know they're guilty, that he might not have known that this is where she hung out. Come on! Women like this have reputations that preceed them. He's walking into a trap and is doing so willingly. He has no judgement. He's not used to weighing out possibilities, comparing right and wrong, and even then putting that knowledge to work. The bulk of this book is written as a father (or grandfather even) writing to son or grandson, so most of the issues, especially these having to do with temptation and adultery, are guy focused. So fellas and parents of fellas, listen up. You have a responsibility to exercise and teach (you know your role) good judgement. Judgement in what is good and what is not. What kind of people to hang out with. What kinds of girls to date. What to do and not to do with said girl. It's a rough world out there for guys and girls alike. While guys are busy sorting out all the visual and auditory stimuli, girls are being strung along too being told that "this is what boys like and what you need to do to get them to like you". Parents, you have your job cut out for you. I dread to think that parenting is only going to get harder as time goes on because it's hard enough now. The Lord has set out for us a way. Using good judgement will keep us on that way. It's a valuable commodity that is all too often checked at the door (on the way out) or left at church. Use it. It will save you in the long run.

Later...