When someone asks me for advice or asks how I handle a situation, I always want to think of a wise and thought-provoking answer - basically, make myself look really good in this moment! This morning, as I was mopping my floor - one of the few things I actually do completely by myself around here :) - I was thinking about advice that I have received over the years and the kind of advice that I appreciated the most and the kind that I disliked the most. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I enjoyed the advice of a person who gave me Scripture - who either took me to a place in the Bible or was even able to quote it to me. Scripture can be convicting, but it is also a never-ending source of life and encouragement and joy. I don't believe it is a strange coincidence that those who give me advice using Scripture are also the most encouraging advisers I have had.
Here was my profound thought for the day...Many people give Christian advice as in "the right thing to do is..." or "people who do that will never..." There isn't necessarily anything wrong with this advice, but I should always, in every situation, turn to the Bible for my answers. What does Scripture tell me about this? Are there a set of Biblical "rules" that I should know about when addressing this issue? Does the Bible speak specifically of this problem? Now, I am the first to be on the band wagon when it comes to having high standards and pursuing excellence. I am not saying that we cannot do something just because it is the "Christian" thing to do, but I do wonder how many times I have placed insurmountable expectations or unhelpful guilt on someone because I have told them my Christian opinion instead of God's Biblical perspective.
Why am I telling you all this? Well, it was thought-provoking for me, and I thought you might find it to be so as well. It has also been a good reminder to me that I need to know the Word better. I can tell you all about the Christian thing to do, but how many verses can I show you that will tell you the Biblical thing to do? I encourage you today to study God's Word deeply. Learn about your God and His desires and perspective so that when you are given the chance, instead of spouting all of your Christian knowledge, you will be able to encourage with the best Encourager of all, God's Word.
Wishing you a day full of blessings,
Christy
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