Okay, so your old pal Doc Brown has come through and built a time machine. Only this time it’s not built out of a DeLorean, but out of a phone. The catch is you can leave a voicemail to your younger self, but you only have time to leave a single “two word” message.

What do you say?

I know what I’d say. I’d say

THINK DUMMY

I can only imagine what my reaction would be today if I checked my phone and saw that I had a message from the future…from myself…and those were the two words I heard.

I would probably start second guessing every decision I made. I suppose I would go on with business as usual about a lot of things (brushing my teeth, tying my shoes, etc), but whenever I would come to a new decision that had to be made, I would remember that message. I’d remember the words I heard from someone who knew better and was trying to warn me of something.

And since I called myself “dummy” I must have been trying to warn myself of something that would be a very big mistake.

Of course, time machines aren’t real. I can’t rely on a message from the future to help me. But then again, I don’t need to. God’s Word is sufficient.

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Hebrews 5:12-14

Here Paul says that by using the Word of God, I can have all the information I need to know how to avoid making the big mistakes. The more I use it, the wiser I will be; the less I use it the more foolish I am: like a child compared to an adult. A child can’t fully comprehend the consequences of actions, but an adult can. Through the word of God, I have the means to know what is good and what is evil, so that I can think (dummy) before I act.