I had another guy tell me he was going to do something that probably wouldn't make sense to me.
Rats. I hate it when that happens.
When a guy says something like that, it usually means he's about to do something really stupid, and I mean really stupid. (And yes, I meant to say "really stupid" twice.)
Sure enough.
He pegged the Ridiculous Meter and said, "From where I'm sitting, it looks like the only way I'm going to be happy is if I can hook-up with Candy." (Of course, Candy isn't her real name, but it serves to make my point and amplify the stupidity of a guy who thinks that just because Candy works nearly naked at the restaurant he frequents - and increases her income by flirting with men and acting as if she's flushed with desire when they ask her for more Ranch Dressing to dip their french fries in - that she is actually interested in him.)
"No kidding?"
"That's how it looks to me," he said. "I'm fed up with my marriage but it looks like I could be happy with Candy."
I was tempted to say, "Candy is just working without wearing enough clothes. You're confused. She has no more interest in you than the Man in the Moon. She smiles and touches your arm to increase her tip. When she brushes past you with a handful of cash (that recently belonged to you) she's on her way to the next table to repeat her performance. Trust me friend, Candy is not fantasizing about you right now."
I was tempted to say that, but before I could, he said, "I haven't really talked with Candy, except at the restaurant, but I think she feels the same way about me. At least that's how it looks from where I'm sitting."
Holy cow.
Like Homer's Odysseus, I wanted to lash this poor sailor to the mast before he could be lured to his death by the siren call of Lust's false promises. It was obvious to me that things weren't as they seemed to him. What looked to him like a rip-roaring-good-time would probably wreck his life, and he didn't even know it. Proverbs flashed before my eyes, "With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter."
After that conversation I figured I'd try to help men everywhere with a brief blog post that illustrates a little known fact: "Things aren't always as they seem."
That's right. You might not be able to see everything from your personal point-of-view. So if you make important life-changing decisions, based solely on your uninformed personal viewpoint, you're going to do some really dumb things. Make major changes in your life, without asking God and others to give you better perspective on things, and you'll wish you'd sought their wisdom.
Get some good advice - and here's some to start with: "Stop eating in places where women don't wear enough clothes."
Ask others to help you look before you leap.
Ask them to give you their perspective on things.
And, as you pray and read the Bible, ask God to help you see things from HIS perspective, so you can discern the truth from a lie.
Proverbs 12:15 - The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.