When you drive on a country road with ditches, you
have to avoid going off the road on both sides. Whether
you go too far to the right or to the left, either way,
you
will wind up in a ditch.
Some things in the Bible come in pairs. One statement
helps us avoid the ditch on one side of the road, and
the
other statement helps us avoid the ditch on the opposite
side.
When it comes to what we think about, we need to
understand both sets of principles. On the one hand, we
need to have enough understanding of evil to be able to
deal with it. On the other hand, we need to focus on
good
things—not bad ones. You can see both of these
principles
in Scripture.
"Behold, I send you
out as sheep in the midst
of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as
doves." (Matthew 10:16)
"Lest Satan should
take advantage of us: for we are
not ignorant of his devices." (2 Corinthians 2:11)
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,
whatever things are noble, whatever things
are just, whatever things are pure, whatever
things are lovely, whatever things are of good
report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)
So we need to have enough understanding of bad
things to be able to avoid getting snared by them, but
at
the same time we cannot afford to focus on such things.
We need to focus on good things (and especially on God
and His Word). How can we do that in real life?
We do something similar all the time when we drive.
We keep our eyes on the road ahead. But at the same
time,
we are aware of things to the side of the road, such as
a
deer or another vehicle that could be a potential
driving
hazard. Our primary focus is straight ahead (which keeps
us safe on the road). However, our peripheral vision
takes
in other things (so that we are aware of what is going
on
around us).
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