Crushing the Cricket

Have you ever made a wrong decision that you thought was the right decision at the time?  I have.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9

Recently someone told me a story about how they weren't allowed to watch Pinocchio as a child because of that little conscience every body loves, Jiminy Cricket.

I laughed when I heard the reason Pinocchio was banned from their home. I really shouldn't have laughed.  After all, my kids weren't allowed to watch it either, but it was for the more...ahem... pious reason of the Biblical name for "donkey" being used in the movie.  My reason was acceptable (please hear my smile), but theirs...well...it seemed a bit ridiculous.

They explained that Jiminy's motto,"Always let your conscious be your guide", was the reason for crushing the cricket.  And they quoted the verse above.  Again, I laughed in unbelief.

I'm not laughing today.  Although I'm not for condemning crickets or judging Jiminy, my friend seriously has a point.

The other day I made a decision based on my conscience.  I desperately wanted to do the right thing.  However, our hearts can deceive us.  

The Hebrew word for "heart" in the verse above is leb and it can also be translated as soul, mind or conscience.

By following my conscience, I unwittingly neglected to follow the Holy Spirit.

There will be times when following the Holy Spirit does not make sense and following Him may even seem wrong to some.  However, His way is never wrong.

Our guide needs to be the Holy Spirit and Him only.  He alone is the final authority in our lives.

If we listen to our hearts or crickets, we may find ourselves in a similar place as Pinocchio, looking like a Biblical word for donkey.  And that is never good.