Which End Do You Trust?

Sometimes a person can get mixed signals and wrong impressions.

Have you ever leaped in when you should have run away?

It reminds me of an old joke where a father is taking his young son for a walk around the block. They encounter a stray dog and the young child is afraid to pet the dog.

The father tries to quell his fear and he says, "It's okay, he is friendly. Look, he's even wagging his tail."

The son replies, "Yeah, but he's barking and growling, too and I don't know which end to believe!"

Mixed signals can often make you hesitate when you're not sure which end to trust especially when both ends are attached to the same thing.

Just one look at the major headlines around the world will tell you that mixed signals are raging across the globe. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi women are getting mixed signals and conflicting messages from the Saudi Government. You can read the news article here.

A Yahoo news article said the Stock Market is giving investors mixed signals and you can read that article here.

Yet another media report stated that Legislators are giving mixed signals on the texting ban and you can read that in the Columbus Dispatch here.

Which end do you trust?

I am of the firm belief that what is closer to the back end is more believable than the upfront noise. In other words, look to the wagging tail before you listen to the bark. It is often the bark that is misleading.

Proverbs 6:12-14

"A troublemaker and a villain,
who goes about with a corrupt mouth,

who winks maliciously with his eye,
signals with his feet
and motions with his fingers,
who plots evil with deceit in his heart-
he always stirs up conflict."

The noise may confuse you, but in the end - it is the end that will never lead you astray.

Sources:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/11/17/mixed-signals-sent-on-texting-ban.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/18/white-house-sends-mixed-signals-on-home-care/

http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-mostly-rise-mixed-signals-europe-152045064.html

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/10/142185015/saudi-women-drive-change-despite-mixed-signals

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+6&version=NIV