I was excited! I was going camping with my friend Jenny and her family at the beautiful Washington seacoast. We chatted happily through the two-hour ride in the big van as we drove to the ocean. When we got there, Jenny and her brothers and sisters clamored to ride the go-carts. I didn’t like that idea at all. I didn’t like driving anything. It reminded me of the awful time I drove our neighbor’s motorbike straight into a big tree. No, I really wasn’t interested.
“Oh, come on! Just try it!” Jenny urged. The others joined in, and soon they convinced me it would be fun.
As I waited my turn I noticed the big sign listing the rules, including “Tie up long hair.” But even though my hair hung past my waist, I left it hanging loose.
Why do you think I did that? It is a very simple answer - pride. I didn’t want to look funny with my hair all tied up.
I got on my go-cart and no one mentioned my hair. I seemed to be getting away with breaking that rule.
Soon I was heading around the track, a bit nervous, but starting to like it. Suddenly my head got jerked back hard! I tried to slam on the brakes, but they didn’t seem to work. It seemed to take forever before my go-cart slowed down. I was lying flat on my back with my hair being pulled tight, as the go-cart finally came to a stop. Ignoring the rule had caught up with me.
Are you ignoring what the Bible says about your sins and that you need a Saviour? Do you think you are getting along without Him just fine, just as I got along without obeying that rule for a while? I eventually got caught, and so will everyone who “[obeys] not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:88In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (2 Thessalonians 1:8)).
Jenny’s parents came running over. They thought I was dead since I was lying perfectly still. But I was very much alive! They soon realized that some of my hair had caught on the axle and wound round and round, pulling my head back until I was lying on my back. Once they cut off some of my hair I could sit up again.
The rule to “Tie up long hair” was there for my good. Because I chose to ignore it, I ended up with a very sore head. My parents had to make a long drive to come get me and take me to a doctor. I missed out on the camping trip and had a lot of pain instead.
And the Bible is for our good too. The One who wrote it, God, loves you so much He gave His only Son to die for you. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). If you listen to God as He talks to you through the Bible, you will know what real happiness is. But if you choose to ignore Him and go your own way, you will pay the penalty for your sins.
ML-08/13/1995