Imperfect Love and Godly Friends
On Facebook this week, a friend of a friend posted the following Erica Jong quote:
"Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."
This isn't always the case; there are times when my life experience or accumulated wisdom or critical thinking skills are insufficient for making a choice that I can feel comfortable with. At other times, my emotions are so strong that I don't trust myself to make a reasonable decision on my own. In both cases, I may have no idea what the best answer is.
On the other hand, this quote is more likely to be accurate when I am faced with a dilemma between right and wrong and when making the right choice is inconvenient, unpleasant, unprofitable, unattractive, or painful. It's times like these that really test us. I believe that "It is not our abilities that show what we truly are...it is our choices." (J.K Rowling)
We can have more life experience, accumulated wisdom, and better critical thinking skills than the average person and still make poor choices if we either:
When we aren't well-grounded in the Bible or when our prayer-life isn't what it should be (for instance, new Christian, struggling with sin, struggling with doubt, experiencing a drought in our prayer-life, or grieving a loss), it's vital to have Godly brothers and sisters around us to give us Godly advice, especially when we are seeking advice "when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."
Knowing what the Bible teaches and having an intimate relationship with Christ is our first line of defense, but we are only human. The Christian life is filled with trials and tribulations, hills and valleys. Speaking for myself, the Christian life is not a continual mountaintop-experience. It's more like John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. I have my eyes set on heaven, but I've had times (more than I'd like to admit) when other Christians have come alongside me to encourage me, bolster me, lift me up, set me back on the right road, or pull me out of the miry swamp, back onto solid ground.
The more Christians that we surround ourselves with, the quicker we'll encounter help when we need it. God works on us through others, but so can the Devil. Instead of surrounding ourselves with non-believers, we have to surround ourselves with people who love Christ - people who will speak the truth to us with love. That's one of the reasons why the Bible instructs us to be in the church, surrounding ourselves with fellow believers who can help us along the way.
Churches aren't perfect by any means. How could they be? They are filled with people who are as imperfect as ourselves, but God uses them (and us) in spite of imperfection. (Think about Christ's 12 disciples - far from perfect.) If we abandon the church or shut ourselves off from fellow-believers, what happens when we encounter difficulty? We aren't meant to go through this world alone. We are pilgrims in a strange land; we aren't home yet. The least we can do is try to help and care for each other and allow ourselves to be helped and cared for along the way.
I am blessed to have so many Godly brothers and sisters that I can trust to give me Godly advice, to walk alongside me, encourage me, bolster me, lift me up, set me back on the right road, or pull me out of the miry swamp, back onto solid ground. Our first line of defence is our relationship with Christ; however, our second line of defence is our relationship with fellow believers who love us imperfectly and love our Lord imperfectly, yet who love all the same.
"Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."
This isn't always the case; there are times when my life experience or accumulated wisdom or critical thinking skills are insufficient for making a choice that I can feel comfortable with. At other times, my emotions are so strong that I don't trust myself to make a reasonable decision on my own. In both cases, I may have no idea what the best answer is.
On the other hand, this quote is more likely to be accurate when I am faced with a dilemma between right and wrong and when making the right choice is inconvenient, unpleasant, unprofitable, unattractive, or painful. It's times like these that really test us. I believe that "It is not our abilities that show what we truly are...it is our choices." (J.K Rowling)
We can have more life experience, accumulated wisdom, and better critical thinking skills than the average person and still make poor choices if we either:
- aren't well-grounded in the Bible and prayer, and/or
- seek advice from people who aren't well-grounded in the Bible and prayer.
When we aren't well-grounded in the Bible or when our prayer-life isn't what it should be (for instance, new Christian, struggling with sin, struggling with doubt, experiencing a drought in our prayer-life, or grieving a loss), it's vital to have Godly brothers and sisters around us to give us Godly advice, especially when we are seeking advice "when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."
Knowing what the Bible teaches and having an intimate relationship with Christ is our first line of defense, but we are only human. The Christian life is filled with trials and tribulations, hills and valleys. Speaking for myself, the Christian life is not a continual mountaintop-experience. It's more like John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. I have my eyes set on heaven, but I've had times (more than I'd like to admit) when other Christians have come alongside me to encourage me, bolster me, lift me up, set me back on the right road, or pull me out of the miry swamp, back onto solid ground.
The more Christians that we surround ourselves with, the quicker we'll encounter help when we need it. God works on us through others, but so can the Devil. Instead of surrounding ourselves with non-believers, we have to surround ourselves with people who love Christ - people who will speak the truth to us with love. That's one of the reasons why the Bible instructs us to be in the church, surrounding ourselves with fellow believers who can help us along the way.
Churches aren't perfect by any means. How could they be? They are filled with people who are as imperfect as ourselves, but God uses them (and us) in spite of imperfection. (Think about Christ's 12 disciples - far from perfect.) If we abandon the church or shut ourselves off from fellow-believers, what happens when we encounter difficulty? We aren't meant to go through this world alone. We are pilgrims in a strange land; we aren't home yet. The least we can do is try to help and care for each other and allow ourselves to be helped and cared for along the way.
I am blessed to have so many Godly brothers and sisters that I can trust to give me Godly advice, to walk alongside me, encourage me, bolster me, lift me up, set me back on the right road, or pull me out of the miry swamp, back onto solid ground. Our first line of defence is our relationship with Christ; however, our second line of defence is our relationship with fellow believers who love us imperfectly and love our Lord imperfectly, yet who love all the same.
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