Cameron Robbins, a
recent 2023 high school graduate, was on a trip to the Bahamas with students
from several local high schools. Just four hours after their arrival, Robbins
and his friends went on a sunset party cruise. The boat, named Blackbeard’s
Revenge, was designed to resemble a pirate ship. Around 9:40 p.m. someone
dared Robbins to jump off the boat into the shark-infested waters. Taking
up the challenge, he voluntarily “walked the plank” and jumped overboard.
A video taken
moments after the jump shows Robbins
ignoring onlookers’ pleas for him to grab a life ring that had been thrown in
the water. A silvery reflection stirred in the dark waters near the boat’s
hull, which may have been a shark. Robbins swam away from whatever it was in
the water. The last scene of the video shows him splashing a few feet from
the boat, before disappearing under water. The teen’s body was never
recovered.
How could anyone be foolish enough to jump off a ship at night where tiger sharks were known to be? Someone dared him to do it. Maybe he was afraid to say no in front of his friends. Maybe it was to prove he was brave. Perhaps he thought the video would go viral on social media and he would become famous (which it did). Whatever the reason, I’m sure he regretted his decision not long after he hit the water, but then it was too late.
Cameron Robbins represents many people who are partying on the wrong ship, listening to the wrong voices, and jumping to the wrong conclusions. They make hasty decisions that will ruin their lives without thinking about the consequences. It might not be jumping overboard, but something just as dangerous and fatal in the long run.
Proverbs 14:16 says, “A wise person suspects danger and cautiously avoids evil, but the fool is arrogant and careless.” That means we have the courage to say no when people dare us to do very stupid things. We choose to be with friends who follow God and avoid those who want us to do wrong. Solomon said, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Prov. 13:20). www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
