Prudence

“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.” Proverbs 22:3

One of the most important rules of driving safety is scanning the road ahead for potential dangers. If you are driving down the freeway at 70 miles per hour, your vehicle travels over 100 feet per second. The average overall stopping distance on dry pavement at 70 miles per hour is 315 feet, which is longer than a football field. Experts suggest looking ahead 10 to 15 seconds for possible hazards as you drive, so at highway speeds, you should be looking about a quarter of a mile ahead of your vehicle. This gives you time to react appropriately and avoid a potential collision.

This particular driving skill is an excellent illustration of the biblical principle of prudence mentioned in the passage above. Prudence is the ability to foresee potential problems in life and govern our decisions and actions accordingly. A prudent person is one who makes good long-term decisions. He is thinking about the potential effects of any given action and making decisions based on any future ramifications rather than the immediate results. A prudent person foresees the evil of living in poverty and works to provide for the present as well as saving for the future. A prudent person sees that living in sin, though it may seem to be pleasurable in the moment, has disastrous consequences and takes steps to avoid the sin and protect himself and his family. Are you living with prudence?