In our younger days, my brother did something stupid and crazy. He was kind of a daredevil anyway, so it wasn’t an unusual occurrence. But this was even crazier than normal. (Although we did dare him to run around the house in his bare feet and jammies in like 6′ of snow. But that’s a story for another day.)
We had gotten a tremendous amount of snow, and it was piled high against the garage that sat behind our house. So he climbed up on the roof and decided to jump off said roof into the snow pile. It wasn’t a huge drop because of how high the snow was piled, but still. Snow isn’t known to be the most sturdy or cushy surface to land on.
Off he went and down he landed, tearing the ligaments in his knee. He didn’t want to tell our mom, of course, so he kind of crawled around the house for a while, hoping it would get better, but it didn’t. And he had to spill the beans about what he did.
Her initial response was a typical parental response. “Jon! What were you thinking?”
What he did wasn’t wrong, per se, in the fact that he didn’t break any set rules. I don’t remember ever being told that jumping off the roof was a sin. It wasn’t rebellion. He didn’t break any laws. But it certainly wasn’t the wisest decision my brother had ever made.
Just because it isn’t wrong doesn’t mean it’s wise.
A lot of times when we’re getting ready to do something, we fleetingly think, “Is this wrong?” And if the answer is no, we forge ahead.
But a great question to follow up with is, “Is this wise?”
I have every right to say what I’m about to say, but is it wise?
I have every right to post what I’m about to post on social media, but is it wise?
I am physically capable of jumping off a roof into a big pile of snow, but is it wise?
There are people on the other side of everything we say. On the other side of every screen we post from. There are people impacted by every decision we make who need us to be as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove. (Matthew 10:16)
You can be on the right side of wrong and still be on the wrong side of wise. The goal isn’t to see how close to wrong we can get and still be “okay”. The goal is living wisely.
I love the gospels. I love to see how Jesus responded to things. How He spoke to people. Where He wept and how and for whom He prayed. I look up from my Bible a lot and just say out loud, “Jesus, you are so smart!” The way He answered was always so genius. Wise.
The goal is to be Christ-like in every area. The goal is to live as wisely as possible, to speak as wisely as possible, to post as wisely as possible, so that we resemble Jesus in every way.
So remember, instead of just asking yourself if something is right or wrong, follow that up with, “Is this wise?” And if it isn’t, refrain.
