Knowing Our Limitations

Not everyone who grows older, grows wiser. At least that’s as I see it, looking back down my 77 years for signs of wisdom and finding precious few. And yet, perhaps I am too tough on myself.. I have learned some things along the way, mostly from mistakes I have made. A time or two I’ve been tempted to dive too deeply into shallow financial waters. However, the Lord looks after fools like me and I somehow repented before I took the plunge..

I have inherited a few things from my dad. It certainly didn’t include how to make a lot of money, because Pop played the ponies most of his adult life and he died broke. No, I’ve never been much of a gambler; I could never be “cool” enough to lose my meager monies gracefully. The several times I made it to Las Vegas I was amazed at how easily some folks can sacrifice hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars on a roll of the dice or the spin of a wheel without raising an eyebrow. Losing a few bucks on the one-arm bandits was traumatic enough for me. Realistically or otherwise, I know my limitations. A gambler I ain’t. And that’s a beginning of wisdom, at least for me.

Still, I think knowing our limitations extends far beyond the temptations of Las Vegas. There’s the stock market that lures a flock of folks to invest their oftentimes meager financial holdings and pray for an instant return that will hopefully insure a worry free future. A glance back down the years to October, 1929, should dampen the fires of lust just a bit and choose caution rather than a hasty cavalier investment in some promised windfall. I guess I’m a bit of a chicken when it comes to gambling of any kind. I will admit, however, to a love affair with cigarettes that lasted over forty years which as I see it now was a gamble of the worst kind. Fortunately, the Lord delivered me twenty years ago and I’m still here. Talk about a roll of the dice.

As I see it, wisdom shouldn’t be limited to age. It occurs to me that many young people, excited about a life together as a married couple, set caution aside early on and purchase, via credit cards, all kinds of things they deem necessary to set up housekeeping. That’s a normal response to marriage, but hopefully they can exhibit a bit of wisdom by knowing their financial limits and can avoid over extending the plastic temptations. When my wife, Betty, and I were married in January of 1948, credit cards were fairly new and our lean income made it impossible to get one. It was probably a blessing, however, as we stayed virtually out of debt for years. At our tender ages, it wasn’t wisdom that kept us debt free, it was the lack of credit.

There’s a passage in Psalms 90:12 that encourages us “to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” I take that to mean we should be aware of our limitations and be careful, as Jesus says in Luke 14:28-30, to count the cost before we build, gaining wisdom by lengthening our view of life.

Well, enough! As I look back at those 77 years of my life so far, it wasn’t wisdom on my part, or even knowing my limitations, but rather the grace of God that protected me from disaster. Oh, my life has not been totally void of wisdom. I am even thankful for my trips to Las Vegas, at least the one time I really hit it big and came away a winner. I didn’t think of my limitations back then but in that one trip to Las Vegas I married the girl who stayed with the likes of me for almost 50 years and became the mother of my sons. And even though I didn’t count the cost before hand, I guess you might say that was a definite display of wisdom on my part. And it occurs to me, dear reader, that’s the truth.