My great-grandmother, Ms Julia Louise Croslin, better known to all of my family as Mammaw, was full of wisdom. And one of her favorite lines of wisdom was delivered with a good Southern dialect rhyme, “Those that can’t be to’d must be showed.” What Mammaw was getting at is that some people are too hard-headed to listen to wisdom. So, they have to find out for themselves the hard way.

Mammaw’s wisdom echoes the Bible in Proverbs 10:8, where it says, “The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.” A wise person can simply be told, “Hey, don’t stick that screwdriver in the light socket.” But the foolish person ignores what they are told and does it anyway. And they find out the hard way how bad that hurts. A wise person can simply be told, “Hey, don’t jump off that bridge.” But the foolish person ignores what they are told and does it anyway. And again, they find out the hard way.

Beloved, when God tells you not to do that, He knows best. He’s not keeping something from you. He’s protecting you. And the wise heart will listen to what they are told. Be to’d instead of showed.

Change begins in you!