Our theme for this month: “Mistakes”
Our Bible verse for today: “I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago … These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us.” 1 Corinthians 10:1, 11 (NLT)
Our thought for today: “We can learn from the examples of others.”
We can and should learn from the examples set for us by others – both the good examples and the bad ones. More specifically, and maybe more importantly, we can learn from the mistakes of others. That’s what Paul was writing about in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. He was reminding his readers of how the ancient Jews disobeyed God, didn’t trust Him to deliver the Promised Land into their hands, and how they suffered greatly as a result. Paul was urging his readers to learn from that bad example and to avoid making a similar mistake.
One of the greatest learning tools God has provided to us are the examples set for us by other people. God brings into our lives godly and faithful men and women who will serve as good examples for us. We should observe their good conduct, consider the benefits and rewards of living that way, and then emulate their examples. If their good conduct produced good results for them, then similar conduct on our part will likely produce similar results for us.
Likewise, we can learn important lessons from the bad examples set by others. If we see someone jump off a tall building, and we observe that they ended up looking a lot like a squished bug on the sidewalk, we can conclude that a similar choice on our part probably wouldn’t turn out any better for us. Of course we can also apply the same logic to virtually any other example. If robbing a bank landed the other person in jail then chances are good it would put us behind bars too. If a lifetime of smoking resulted in the other person dying from lung cancer, there’s a good chance we are at similar risk for developing that disease too if we also smoke.
One of the keys to successful living is to surround yourself with people who are already living the kind of life you would like to have, and to avoid people who don’t. The old adage that over time we become like those we associate with is very true. So find people who are making good choices and getting good results from those choices, and copy their example. Then watch closely the lives of those who are not doing well, carefully consider the poor choices that have gotten them into the situations they are in, and avoid similar conduct in your own life.
We can learn important life lessons by considering the examples of others.
God Bless,
Oak Hill Baptist Church 