Tip #11 "If I only knew then what I know now..."

Tip #11 "If I only knew then what I know now..."

Often times I have thought If I only knew then what I know now then I would ____. Have you ever thought that? I can remember back in the days of the tech boom. I was working for CDW in sales. I was making a good living while investing quite a bit in stocks. But, I didn't know much. Back then, I could invest in just about anything and make money. I remember one particular stock that I invested in called JAWZ. I put approximately $12000 into the stock. Well, within a few months my $12000 had become $125000. I was up $100,000+. Great! Well, the market started to waiver, my friends and family members began taking their money out. But, I decided to "stay in for the long term" because I believed they had a great product, etc. To make a long story short I rode that stock all the way to almost $0. I lost my $12000+$113000 in profit in less than one year. If I only knew then what I know now I would have locked in at least $80,000 in profit.

Well, that's just money right? Money is not really that important in the whole scheme of things. But, that financial lesson taught me something that I will never forget. I absolutely must seek, listen, and apply the wise counsel of those that are wiser than I am.

I just finished reading several books in Romans. Chapter 7 has always intrigued me so much. In fact, I once did a 7 week study just on Romans 7 in a bible study that I was leading. Unfortunately, the group wanted to go on. I wanted to study it for at least another 4-6 weeks. There is so much there. Paul talks about the all important battle between our mind and our flesh. The Holy Spirit vs. the evil spirit that dwells in our flesh. In this flesh dwells no good thing. I am a living, walking battle field. I do not have to go any further than my own mind and body to discover World War III.

So, I started thinking and praying "God, please help me to know now what I will know when I am 70 years old if You give me that many years." I am no longer as concerned about making absurd amounts of money as I was when I was younger. I am still quite motivated to do my job with all my might and beyond expectation so that God can be glorified. But, I really desire to have deep wisdom as Solomon did. I want to use this wisdom for God's glory and not mine. Unfortunately, Solomon did not use this wisdom wisely as he ended up turning away from God. I on the other hand deeply desire to have profound wisdom of our Lord and God in order that I do not fall or lead others astray that he has placed in my life. I wish to know now what I will know when I am 70 years old. How about you?

Tip #11 "If I only knew then what I know now..."