Advice You Didn't Ask For

Ever gotten advice you didn’t ask for? If you’ve lived through your teenage years, I’m sure you’ve gotten plenty of it. Well, I’m not a teenager but some time ago I got some advice just like that.

It was a beautiful summer day, just right for biking. By the way, this is my favorite time of the year and I love to bike. On this particular day (probably over a year ago), I was in such a hurry to get away and ride, that I forgot to put on my helmet. By the time I remembered, I was already a mile or two from home. I wasn’t about to turn around and go all the way back there to get it. I would just take my chances, I thought. Besides, there was no law that said I had to wear one.

I was riding down a street when I spied another biker coming out from a side street to my left. I was headed downhill, and had a pretty good head of steam. I passed the street and she entered behind me. I thought, I’ll surely be able to stay ahead of her. I’m going pretty fast and . . . she’s just a woman.

I was feeling pretty macho until I heard something coming up behind me. I was pumping as hard as I could, but here came this lady passing me as if I was standing still. If that wasn’t humiliating enough, she added insult to injury. As she breezed by me, she shouted back over her shoulder, “You know, you really need to wear a helmet.”

That ticked me. I’d never fallen before so my past argued against her advice. I really thought that helmets were hot and bothersome, not to mention the fact that I thought they made you look like a dork! My preferences argued against her advice. I was 40-something years old, and I should know if I need to wear a helmet or not. My position argued against her advice.

But whether it was her advice or not, I really did begin to wear my helmet, and a few weeks ago, I discovered that her advice was golden. I fell off my bike while on vacation, and you want to see what happened to my helmet. (Show helmet) Now, that would have been my head. Listening to her advice may have saved my life.

Discernment comes when I follow godly advice.