Learn From Mistakes
Jeremiah 3
(v. 8-10) " 'I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,' declares the Lord."
My Thoughts
Israel had committed idolatry and God's judgement on them was that they were to be destroyed by Assyria. Judah knew exactly what Israel had done. Judah also knew the punishment that Israel had suffered and that it was God's judgement. Despite knowing this, Judah did not care. It mattered none to them because they followed in the same footsteps, committing idolatry, worshiping idols made of stone and wood.
Judah could have, and should have, learned from Israel's mistakes. They knew the punishment Israel had to suffer, and still they did the same thing. When you know of a deed someone has committed and you know of the consequences of that deed, why would you want to follow their example? Usually you try to avoid doing the same thing. When the consequences are severe, you want to avoid the same consequences even more. People seem to think "Oh, that won't happen to me!" People would be wrong.
When you screw up, the best thing to do would be to admit that you screwed up, and then learn from your own mistakes. If you're trying to learn to back-flip and you land on your head, bad things will happen. If you are still alright afterward, you're not going to want to do that ever again. That's a good thing. Don't let it stop you from trying to learn to back-flip, but learn from your mistake to avoid the consequences in the future. Once you've learned to back-flip, you can teach someone else how to do it. That person will have a teacher; one who already made the mistakes and knows how to avoid them. So the student learns from the teacher's mistakes and completely avoids the same consequences all together. This is how it should be for everything.
Don't make the same mistakes that other people have made. Rather, learn from their mistakes and you won't suffer their consequences. Don't follow the sins of other people, even if they are friends or family and they try to entice you or convince you or pressure you. It is always better not to make the mistake in the first place than to experience the consequences fr yourself. Their are many examples in the Bible of people making huge mistakes, and even smaller ones. Read carefully when you read and learn from them. Follow Jesus' paths and stay off of the paths that lead to destruction.
Judah could have, and should have, learned from Israel's mistakes. They knew the punishment Israel had to suffer, and still they did the same thing. When you know of a deed someone has committed and you know of the consequences of that deed, why would you want to follow their example? Usually you try to avoid doing the same thing. When the consequences are severe, you want to avoid the same consequences even more. People seem to think "Oh, that won't happen to me!" People would be wrong.
When you screw up, the best thing to do would be to admit that you screwed up, and then learn from your own mistakes. If you're trying to learn to back-flip and you land on your head, bad things will happen. If you are still alright afterward, you're not going to want to do that ever again. That's a good thing. Don't let it stop you from trying to learn to back-flip, but learn from your mistake to avoid the consequences in the future. Once you've learned to back-flip, you can teach someone else how to do it. That person will have a teacher; one who already made the mistakes and knows how to avoid them. So the student learns from the teacher's mistakes and completely avoids the same consequences all together. This is how it should be for everything.
Don't make the same mistakes that other people have made. Rather, learn from their mistakes and you won't suffer their consequences. Don't follow the sins of other people, even if they are friends or family and they try to entice you or convince you or pressure you. It is always better not to make the mistake in the first place than to experience the consequences fr yourself. Their are many examples in the Bible of people making huge mistakes, and even smaller ones. Read carefully when you read and learn from them. Follow Jesus' paths and stay off of the paths that lead to destruction.
Prayer Time
Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do. Thanks for reading, Godbless!
