When I put my life at risk, which I do every day, I trust thoroughly tested items.

I trust the brakes in my Jeep, which a mechanic checks regularly. I trust the stop light showing green to me shines red to those racing up the cross street. I’m forced to trust the multitasking skills of the Subaru mom behind me, texting and checking on homework while rushing kids to school. I board a long metal tube with wings and count on that thing to fly.

Some things I refuse to trust. Obviously, I don’t trust experimental submersibles any more. My wife and I just watched a documentary on Bernie Madoff, the evil genius behind the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Lots of good people trusted him and lost their life savings. As a parent, no way would I allow my child to receive gender blocking hormones as part of the untested societal experiment going on across our land. Too much at risk.

Fortunately, the psalmist reminds me of a comprehensively vetted source of wisdom:

Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.

For centuries people took their Bibles and applied the teachings and principles found therein to their parenting, finances, marriage and work. Followers of the Book love God and do unto others as would be done unto them. Individual lives and entire societies improve dramatically by living the truths found in the Scriptures.

Thoroughly tested for several thousand years. When I put my life at risk, which I do every day, I go with confidence found in the certified wisdom of the Bible, far superior to the confusion and uncertainty offered by the world around me.

Psalm 119:140 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Crystal Kwok