Any carpenter (even the weekend variety) have probably heard the saying, “Measure twice, cut once.” From their own experience, many have come to appreciate the sage counsel in that slogan. Why is that so important? Why is it better to measure twice and then cut?
There are a number of very practical reasons for this, but consider a few. Because if you only measure once, you might misread it or make a mistake. Because if you only measure once, you might end up cutting twice. Because it is easier to measure the wood twice than it is to stretch the board half-an-inch longer after the cut. Because once you’ve made the cut, that’s final—you cannot go back and uncut it. Because if it is your last piece, your project will be incomplete if you get the cut wrong. Because it takes less time to measure twice than it does to run down to the hardware store to get another piece after cutting it wrong.
Think about some of the applications of this principle in relationship to the Christian life.
Count the cost! The Christian life requires a commitment to Christ that is unparalleled to anything else in this life. Before one is baptized into Christ, he must evaluate if he is truly prepared to give Christ all that he has for the rest of his life. Better to measure twice and cut once!
Search the Scriptures! The Scriptures are our God-given guide for our journey to heaven. Too often a person will hear someone teach about the Bible and accept their teaching without any verification. Unfortunately, “many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Responsible Christians, therefore, will search “the Scriptures daily to find out whether” the things they are taught are “so” (Acts 17:11). Better to measure twice and cut once!
Test all things! The devil places all sorts of traps in our way to try to get us to stumble and stray in our service to God. To be certain, God tells us, “Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thess. 5:21-22). “Whatever [we] do in word or deed,” we must “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17). Better to measure twice and cut once!
Marry a faithful Christian! A spouse will have a greater impact on a Christian than any other person in his/her life. The choosing of a mate can have a lifelong effect on one’s service to the Lord and, thereby, a direct bearing on one’s eternal destiny. Better to measure twice and cut once!
Some decisions in life cannot be reversed. Many decisions in life have eternal consequences. Measure carefully!