Pastoral Letters

The Wise Shuns Evil

March 5, 2017 Author:Rev (Dr) Andrew Tan
SMRT was fined $400,000 over an accident in which two trainees died.  The district judge who meted out the punishment said that the mistakes SMRT committed were “fundamental and serious.”  They did not only fail to follow the safety procedures, the judge added that “a completely different and clearly unsafe set of practices had been adopted for the longest of time by its staff.”

Why did the SMRT maintenance team not abide by the rules?  We do not know.  If they were unaware of the procedures, the maintenance team should clarify.  It could be that they knew but felt that the procedures were too cumbersome to follow.  In other words, the maintenance team felt that the procedures were not practical.  But if that were the case, the maintenance team should have raised their concerns.  They did not.

Did the workers think that they were smarter than the procedures which were thoroughly thought through before implementation?  We do not know the real reason.  If, however, that were the case, Proverbs 14:16 comments:

The wise fear the LORD              and shun evil,

but a fool is hotheaded              and yet feels secure.

Who are the wise?  They are those who fear to offend the Lord and will hence “shun evil.”  Who is a “fool”?  He is described as a “hotheaded” or an angry person – he is angry with the Lord and his commands.  He is someone who says, “Why can’t I do this?  Why is the Lord always stopping me from doing what I want?!  His commands are impractical and foolish.”  As a result, he feels that he is cleverer than the Lord and His commands and feels “secure,” that is, overconfident.  The consequence could be frightening: the two SMRT trainees were hit by an oncoming train and died.

Dear brothers and sisters-in-Christ, we will never be cleverer than God and His commands.  When the Lord says “no” to some of your desires, His intention is not to make life miserable for you.  The opposite is true: He is trying to protect you from harm.  When He tells you not to do something, do not do it – obey.  You must be aware of your weakness: we tend to overestimate our own ability to contain evil – we tend to think that we can control the consequences of evil.  Just as the maintenance team could stop an oncoming train, you will not be able to stop the destruction that comes with evil.

We have many desires.  You can be sure that the Lord desires to bless you bountifully because “He who did not spare His own but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32) – If God has given you Jesus who is most precious, He will also give you all things because these things will never be more precious than Jesus.  When the Lord, however, rejects your request do not be a fool and think you know better than God, that that thing will not hurt you.  Be teachable.  Do not be a fool.  Submit to God.  That will be the best for you.