Idiot lights are the little red lights on the dash board of the car. The proper name now is warning light. When I was growing up we called them idiot lights. I suppose they got that name because if one came on in your car you were supposed to pull off the road and shut off the car, “you idiot!” Or they may have gotten the name from people not being aware enough to watch the gauges on the dash board. Anyway… In my car a low tire warning light keeps coming on. The first time it happened, I checked the tire pressure, and the tires were all fine—including the spare. The problem is, as the guy at the tire shop told me, my tires have no sending units to measure the pressure and send the data to the computer. That is, my car did not come with the low tire warning system. But it did come with the little light that pops on. So now, instead of checking the pressure in my tires, I just reset the light.
It’s obvious that I have no faith in that light. Well, I do have faith; I have faith that it is wrong. But you know the principle: If I’m going to rely on a warning system, it must be reliable. The truly important principle underlying this is to have a means of gaining insight. In this case it is a tire gauge, but in life what are the means to insight? Proverbs 12:1 “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” Proverbs also tells us, “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” The issue is that I need trusted advisors and these advisors need to know me. They need to be able to “check my pressure,” if you will allow me to stay with the metaphor. I also need advisors who have my best interest at heart. Unfortunately many would-be advisors do not have my best interests at heart. So where do I obtain counsel?
Meeting together with a small group of fellow Christians can provide the much-needed counsel or “warning lights” in our life. Our “God-chosen friends” are not a nuisance; rather they are a comfort. As I had breakfast with a small group this past week, a man commented, “I would have never guessed before I started doing this that it would mean so much to me.” As I looked around the table I saw each man agree. They each had a look of knowing just what he meant. It was as though it had just occurred to each one of them that they had all been on a journey together, and were looking forward to the continuation of the journey.
As I turn the key to my car, just before it starts all of the idiot lights come on. They do this just to let me know that they are working, and as I journey along I have faith that they are there checking.
