“Also, keep back Thy servant from presumptuous sins” (Psalm 19:13).

There are no guarantees in this life.

I can eat whole grain foods, take my vitamins and supplements, stay with organic and get plenty of exercise, and still get hit by a Volvo while crossing the road.

Almost every magazine that comes to my house will have the occasional article telling how to cut down on life-shortening factors.  After reading several of these, you learn to predict their advice: cut out tobacco and sweets, eat more fruits and veggies, walk some every day, and laugh a lot.  Take vitamins, especially this one or that one.

I’m for all that, incidentally.  I do all those things. Well, except for avoiding the sweets.

Soldiers in combat discuss whether there’s a bullet “out there” with one’s name on it.  If such a thing exists, some will say, there’s nothing you can do, so take risks and live life to the fullest.  On the other hand, many soldiers have survived their terms of combat and reported they they took steps to minimize the risks.  They kept their helmet on, kept their armor on, looked before they jumped, maintained their guns in great shape, stayed close to their buddies, and a thousand other things.

On the highway, minimizing risk is a big deal for me.

I travel a lot.  Since last Saturday morning, I have traveled over 1800 miles, and before next Sunday night will have logged another 600 or so.  My  Honda CR-V will be two years old this November and the odometer shows over 56,000 miles. My barber laughs that the 24,000 mile warranty is meaningless with me.

Speed kills, so I try to watch the speedometer and pay attention to road conditions.  Distractions can be a major factor for accidents, so I try to be extra careful about that.  Since fatigue on long trips is a constant worry, I stop regularly and get out and walk around.  My car is serviced on schedule and the tires are in good shape.  I drive defensively, which means anticipating anything that could possibly happen.

Minimizing risk means becoming aware of potential hazards and acting wisely.

Yesterday, I logged 600 miles traveling to the funeral of a friend and returning home.  After a heavy rain, in one ten mile segment of the interstate, at least four cars had spun off the highway due to hydroplaning.  That’s why in a heavy rain I slow down to 40 or 50 mph (or even less).

Once you know where the risks are in life, only the most careless or unthinking among us will ignore them.

This subject pertains to the Christian life.

In order to decrease the chance that I may fall prey to temptation and become a washout (what Paul called “making shipwreck” in I Timothy 1:19), I must be proactive and take certain steps….

–A daily time in the Word and prayer.

–Prayer about this day’s events, the people in my life, opportunities coming my way, and the possibilities of each.

–Each day I must confess my sins and declare my complete dependence on the Heavenly Father.

–I must guard my thought life.  Some criminologist has said no one ever commits a crime without going over it a hundred times in his mind first. When he does it, he’s merely acting out what he has already envisioned.

–I must make it a point to avoid known traps.  That television show would not be healthy for my thought life, so I move on to something else.  That novelist puts too much steamy sex and horrendous violence in his books, and both are disturbing to me, so I read something else. Those stand-up comics are obscene, so none for me, thanks.

And yet….

It would be foolish for anyone to say, “I can assure you I will not commit adultery” or take what belongs to another or pass along gossip or some other sinful act.

The Lord “remembers that we are but dust” (Psalm 103:14) and it might be well for us to keep in mind the same fact.

When King David took a respite from his military career in order to enjoy the fruits of his labors, he was unprepared for the sight waiting for him just over the rooftops. There was lovely Bathsheba doing her nightly routine, unaware that she could be seen.  And because David had dropped his guard and was caught unawares by this picture, temptation did a number on him. (2 Samuel 11)

“Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (I Corinthians 10:12).

Someone says, “Well, I’m old and past temptation in that area.”  Wrong. Bad wrong.  “We who are in this body do groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from Heaven” (2 Corinthians 5:2).  As long as you are “in this body,” you can still mess up royally.

I have known preachers who retired and then divorced their spouse and then went crazy.

No one is immune.

A lifetime ago, when Johnny Cash sang about “walking the line,” one phrase said, “I keep my eyes wide open all the time.”

That’s the point.

Don’t go to sleep at the wheel, motorist.

Don’t go to sleep in the Christian life, disciple.

“Let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober” (I Thessalonians 5:6).