The Leash

The Leash (by Tim Klink of Prison Discipleship Ministry)

Proverbs 6:20-21

My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

We can read laws and commandments, and we can know exactly what they say, and yet, if we do not “bind them” upon our hearts, all they become is a bunch of useless knowledge. My parents and grandparents taught me many things, but as most children, they were simply “knowledge,” and not practice. I knew what they were teaching me, but until I applied those teachings to my life, I would still stumble along making wrong choices.

My grandpa was a machinist, and he had a small machine shop in the basement of his house. He taught me many things about how to run the machines to make things. One of the most important things he taught me was to never brush the chips away from a running machine with my hand. He had an old paint brush sitting there that was used for that purpose, and it looked like it had been through a war. One day while I was working on a milling machine, I violated grandpa’s teaching, and the result was disastrous. That was over sixty years ago, and I still have the scars to remind me of the importance of applying the knowledge I am given.

The knowledge we obtain from God's Word is wonderful, but too often we do not apply it to our life in a way that allows it to guide our thoughts and actions. We know it, but we don’t do it. When we apply God’s knowledge to our hearts we must do so “continually,” because life keeps happening, and Satan’s temptations never quit.

We are to “tie them about our neck.” Why? So they constantly guide us. Have you ever seen someone leading an animal with a leash attached to something around it’s neck? The animal is under the complete control of the one leading it. If the animal tries to chose it’s own path, the leash is pulled and it submits. When we try to make our own path, the “leash” of God's Word is to pull us back to the direction of our heavenly Father.

Who or what is pulling your “leash?”