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The avoidable disaster killed 32 people, seriously injured many others, and 4200 passengers were rescued. And it left the investigators wondering, ‘why was this luxury cruise ship sailing so close to the shore in the first place?’ There was a lot of media coverage of this tragedy, and we now know the captain was sailing too close to shore. But what isn’t known quite so well was that once before, this ship had sailed too close to shore but got away with the stunt in 2011.

Avoiding disaster instead of entering risk

So how could the ship have repeated the mistake? There were alarms and computerised warnings, but a headstrong captain wanting to impress his girlfriend? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know there are warnings in our lives that we need to take notice of.

My car has several warning sounds. If I exceed the speed limit or if I stray out of the lane, it’s a good warning sign. It keeps me from danger. Way back on the 31st of May 1889 a man by the name of Daniel Payton came galloping down the road on his horse in a town called Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He was in a hurry, shouting for all his worth that the dam had broken. Some people believed his warning and fled to the nearby hills. Others had heard rumours for years that this dam might burst. They thought it was just a rumour, and many just laughed and they went about their business. Others thought he is crazy. After Daniel had scarcely ridden out of town, a loud rumble was heard. It was too late. A wall of water 15 ft high came tragically. 2300 people perished in this disaster. Warnings had frequently been given.

Ignored warnings are funny things. They’re so important. But they don’t do a thing if they are not obeyed. From the time that we are children, we must learn how to obey warnings. When your mother tells you that the stove is hot and you choose not to obey and you touch the stove, you’ll get burned and suffer the consequences. Warnings are one of the best things we have in life to protect us every day.

The Bible has stories of good people who refuse to heed warnings that God had given them. For example, Noah. He wasn’t a perfect man. He got drunk after the flood and brought shame upon himself and his family. And yet the Bible says he became the greatest and wisest man of his day. He had the wisdom to heed God’s warning. God had said he was going to destroy the world. Noah did not laugh and say, Oh, well, people are always saying the world is going to come to an end he said, I believe you God. He got busy. He built the Ark, and he was ready when the warning came true. Noah was a man of faith, and faith is that attitude that takes God’s warnings seriously.

Love warns

e are fools indeed, if we ignore God’s warnings. Let me give you an example. No one wants to be awakened in the night by someone banging at your door shouting fire. But thank God, if there is a fire, someone cares enough to sound the warning. And what would you think of a neighbour who saw your house on fire and said to himself, I would wake them if I shouted, but I hate to disturb them. At this hour of the morning, you would be appalled at such a foolish attitude. You go ahead and disturb them. Throw a rock through the bedroom window if you had to, but warn them because it’s love that warns. Parents love their Children, and they warn them of the dangers. If no warning is given, how cruel would that be? Every person is responsible for how he or she chooses to respond to warnings. God has given us his son, Jesus Christ, to be our friend and Saviour and help us to make wise decisions. It’s so easy to make foolish decisions, which we’ll come to reject.

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, I guess it’s part of nature that sometimes we never learn. We’re pig headed. We want to do things our own way, and we dismiss any warnings. And Lord, just like the roadside warnings, help me to be aware Lord of straying away from you or not taking you or your words seriously. Give me a wise heart to respond to you today, I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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