Unwise Caution

Ellet J. Waggoner

There is such a thing as being too cautious. This is the case when men hesitate to act upon the Word of the Lord. How often it happens that people will acknowledge the clearness of the Word of God, and still hesitate to let themselves rest upon it. “I know that the Bible says so, but I believe in being cautious. I do not believe in moving too hastily.” Such caution is sin. It is simply unbelief. How differently Mary did when the angels announced to her the birth of a son. “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). And the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of Elizabeth, pronounced a blessing upon her for her ready belief. (See Luke 1:45).
 
Note also the ready belief of the shepherds when the birth of Jesus was announced to them. As soon as the angels departed, they said one to another: “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us” (Luke 2:15). The people who are ‘too wise’ to take things hastily would have said, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see if this thing is so.” But those shepherds believed the word of the Lord without any questioning. That is the kind of faith with which the Lord is pleased.
 
--The Present Truth: February 13, 1896