(Flying Birds?) There is a Way That Seems Right

“There is a way that seems right to a man. But its end is the way of death.”

Proverbs 14:12

Originally hailing from Minnesota, I understand how important The Vikings are.

You cannot fight city hall. Football.

Back in 2016, a new football stadium was unveiled for the Vikings.

It, of course, got a lot of attention, especially as Minnesota was preparing to host the Superbowl in 2018.

Excitement. New was in the air.

And what was also in the air?

Birds.

And here’s where things take a turn.

The stadium’s location was within a mile of the Mississippi River, a major flyaway location for migrating birds.

And, unfortunately, despite the brilliant and impressive design of the stadium, with 200,000 square feet of glass, surrounding it, there was a problem.

The birds kept crashing into the glass… and dying.

Not festive.

The Audobon Society stepped up, asserting the feathered friends’ case.

Birds are unable to distinguish glass from natural sky.

Therefore, they keep going, until they encounter that glass… to their death.

The glass was confusing the birds.

Appeals for solutions were made, including replacing that harmful exterior with that of bird-safe glass, which had patterns on it.

The birds would notice the patterns, see, somehow, that it was not “sky,” and, therefore, not barrel full steam ahead to their demise.

Great! Problem solved?

Come on, you know the set up here.

Unfortunately, to replace the exterior, an extra $1.1 million would need to be shelled out for that bird-safe glass.

And, of course, no one seemed to be able to find the money to make those changes.

To my knowledge, there has not been any “bird-safe glass” replacement.

“There is a way that seems right to a man. But its end is the way of death.”

Proverbs 14:12

We are not that different from these birds, are we?

As much as we’d like to assert that they are “stupid” for flying into the glass, how often have we, you know, the “superior, more intelligent beings” crashed into things in our own lives?

It looks good. It looks like “sky.”

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.”

Proverbs 12:15 

This has to do with “the solution” in our own bird brains.

And we all have our solutions.

“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”

Proverbs 28:26 

The Fool and The Wise.

Which pile do we reside in?

Yep. We get an idea. A “bright idea.”

But IS it?

We think we see sky. We think we get the green light to fly straight ahead.

But is it sky… or harmful, deadly glass?

Right from the start, The Most High is clear about His Ways and His Thoughts…

My ways are higher than your ways.

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD (Elohim). ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

What do we do about that?

Do we agree with it?

What do we think about His thoughts, versus our thoughts?

What could possibly be so bad about our thoughts anyway?

Well, here’s a Whitman’s Sampler.

Enjoy… and cringe.

Our thoughts?

Prideful…

Lustful…

Greedy…

Immature…

Cruel..

Petty…

Raging..

Impatient…

And Thought-LESS…

“The fear of the Lord (Elohim) is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 1:7 

Yeah.

Do we accept the wisdom that, maybe, the supposedly- similar-looking sky is NOT sky?

Do we acknowledge Him, in each way, sky opportunities, included?

“Trust in the LORD (Elohim) with all your heart. And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Come on. You and I know the answer, all too often, to that question.

More like THIS instead.

We fly. We don’t consider things, pause, or slow down.

“The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.”

Proverbs 14:15 

Yep.

We double down on our plans. We believe that what we see is sky.

We want it to be sky. We are determined that it will BE sky.

And we, fly, fly, fly!

“One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.”

Proverbs 14:16 

Maybe we even rationalize, “It’s close enough (to sky)- good enough!”

Great life strategy there, huh?

I know that I have strategized this approach a lot of times in my life.

“Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.”

Proverbs 26:11 

Yay.

Again, more fool folly fun.

Repeating folly.

Let’s say “yay” again.

Only now, we are in the clouds, in the name of flying in the sky of our dreams?

Great.

So…

We fly smack into the glass.

“A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.”

Proverbs 18:6 

Or, in keeping with the bird theme here, our wings fly into a fight, hit the glass, and take that beating.

And then what happens?

Death happens.

“There is a way that seems right to a man. But its end is the way of death.”

Proverbs 14:12

Ah.

How many ways can we experience death?

Oh, let’s count some ways.

Death of relationships…

Death of marriages…

Death of careers…

Death of integrity/reputation…

Death of health…

Death of peace…

That’s a lot of death, isn’t it?

You and I have made those decisions that kept us flying into the harmful glass.

We kept insisting, kept trying, kept hoping that the glass was sky.

Perhaps, yes, we are even doing it right now.

Spiritual Bird- Safe Glass

“And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”

Matthew 7:26 

I know I am not immune from being foolish and from making mistakes.

Therefore…

These Words of Mine?

His Word, Scripture. Divine Guidance.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.”

Psalm 32:8

“Trust in the LORD (Elohim) with all your heart. And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

They exist for us. To help, lead, and protect us… from crashing.

And we all need help from crashing.

Prayer is also a part of that “bird-safe glass.”

So, let’s pray.

I know I could sure use some prayer about my plans, foolishness, folly, and crashing to my death.

How about you?

ABBA FATHER-

We come to You, In Yahshua’s Name; we pray.

You know what ideas we are grappling with.

You know how much something means to us. You know if we are hasty, foolish, impatient, arrogant, and desperate.

Forgive us for moving ahead with our plans before waiting on and consulting you.

You know what this means to us.

Desires. Dreams. Plans.

You know all of them.

Please help us. Guide us.

Protect us from moving forward with our dangerous, harmful, and unwise plans.

Guide us and lead us on the paths of blessings that You have for us.

Thank You for helping us.

In Yahshua’s Name we pray,

Amen.

Copyright © 2025 by Sheryle Cruse