I Didn’t See the Harm

I had this experience recently. I was asked by an individual would it be alright to contact another individual. They were dealing with issues in the past. The last conversation they had with the individual was not a good one and they wanted to make it right. I was impressed to tell them that it was not necessary as the individual had most likely forgotten the incident as it had been over 20 years ago and they probably wouldn’t remember who they were. I even gave a scenario of someone walking up to an individual asking them for forgiveness for disliking them and the individual was unaware of their dislike of them. Being made aware of this dislike, actually did more harm than good. Well days later, in the middle of a conversation, the individual let me know they contacted them anyway. After I asked them why, their response was “I know I told you I wouldn’t do it but I didn’t see the harm”. This is most often our response to things we were instructed to do with little or no understanding “why”. Why do we have to understand everything before we obey? It’s this very way of thinking that has gotten us in trouble so many times.

“I didn’t see the harm.” Harm may be relative to the individual. What I may view as harmful may not be considered harmful to you nevertheless is. For example, you may not see any harm in having unmarital sex one time. Well, one time leads to another and another. Some things only take one time; one kiss, one puff, one drink, one hit and you are hooked. It is the subtleness spoken by the enemy of our soul, Satan, only one time that takes me back to the Garden of Eden. One bite changed the course of the world and the quality of life for the entire human race.

Why do we like to take unnecessary risks? It’s a known fact that there is a rush or high in risk taking. Some risks are worth taking and some aren’t. Who are we to decide? We have been given the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth (John 16:13). He takes the guess work out of it. In addition, we have preachers, teachers and leaders to serve as our check and balance system as well. The Word of God says that there is safety in a multitude of counselors (Proverbs 11:14). So you see, even though we may not understand why, we should trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit in conjunction with those given as preachers, teachers and leaders to us. Of truth, most often leaders giving us the instruction have already walked the territory. If we simply obey, we would save ourselves unnecessary anguish and have a much more productive and enriched life.