“What were you thinking?! You could have been kidnapped and smuggled to Russia!” My best friend and ESL co-worker snapped at me after I showed up at our apartment with a simple explanation of where I’d been.

As far-fetched as the threat of trafficking sounded to a girl who was completely at home in her field of service, I knew my naivety was shining through that day. She was right. I needed to be smarter and much more careful as a foreigner in Southeast Asia.

It was so easy for me to ignore the signs of endangerment, having grown up comfortably and safely in that region. My sense of security was strong with good living and working conditions, trusted friends and family close. An occasional wake-up call coming from someone who cared was exactly what I needed in that season of my life.

The Bible is full of warnings and instructions to help us avoid both spiritual and everyday pitfalls. Why? Because we need it. We should not read through God’s Word and skip over the guardrails and cautions for every age and time in human history. “Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.” (Proverbs 22:5) In our fallen, human condition, we are automatically crooked. Due to being born with a sin nature, it’s easier to walk and live as fools vs. wise. We need to be taught to do right and continue therein. Thorns and snares inevitably fill our paths. But there is a wise way to walk through this life. It’s in paying attention to the task of keeping our souls. That’s the best security plan out there for a servant of the Lord.

I may not have carefully thought through my choices as relaxed as I was back in the day, but the lesson I learned from a friend who looked out for my safety stayed with me. “Buy the truth, and don’t sell it!” Solomon’s words urge you and I to keep God’s direction close and dear as something of great value. It is the light we need to our path.