Advice or Advantage?



James 3:13 says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness”

In life trials will come. Life will throw you a curve ball and you’ll end up down and out. Discouraged, depressed, or maybe even in despair and you’ll be left without answers. Sometimes we reach out to someone for advice. Being a Christian, we are told to seek godly advice. Unfortunately I have found that sometimes “godly advice” really isn’t godly advice. I can remember three specific incidents in my life where I sought advice from three separate individuals who claimed to be “godly”. I trusted these individuals to give solid biblical encouragement. It started off that way and then the next thing I knew, all three ended up taking advantage of my vulnerable state. Each incident left me sick to my stomach and worse off from when I first went to them.

The book of James is sometimes referred to as the proverbs of the New Testament. He writes in various themes. His main point is this: if you are truly a Christian this is how Christians should act.  In other words, real life-giving faith should express itself through action or good deeds. Christians should not only be hearers of the word but doers of it. (James 1:22) Let me put a disclaimer out here “good works” doesn’t save you (Ephesians 2:8-9) but “good works” does prove you have a genuine saving faith (James 2:14). James 3 is in the context of speech. A new man/woman in Christ should have a new vocabulary. He talks about taming the tongue and how evil our tongues are. A person’s speech is a good indicator of how spiritually mature someone is. I think we all can say we have room for improvement!

Mathew 5:17-19 states, “out of the heart the mouth speaks” what comes out of a person’s mouth is what is really inside their heart. The tongue tattles on the heart! What can we glean from these two kinds of wisdoms James tells us about…?

TRUE WISDOM	EARTHY WISDOM
Person has a good life	Harboring Bitter envy
Person does deeds done in humility	Selfish Ambition
Pure	Boastful
Peace-loving	Denies the truth
Considerate	Unspiritual
Submissive	Earthly
Full of mercy	Of the devil
Good Fruit
Impartial
Sincere
Peace Maker

 

The next time we receive “godly” advice filter it through this grid. Does it contain the qualities on the left or the ones on the right? When you end that conversation do you have a closer understanding of God’s heart in that matter? Did that person take you to the scriptures and show you what God would have you to do? OR… Does this person who’s telling you what to do harbor bitter envy in their heart? Or have a selfish ambition?  

It can be hard to tell what a person’s motives are, and as Christians we are not to judge motives but we are supposed to judge fruit. I have made a lot of mistakes and am still learning on this journey but one thing that has helped me in this process is listening. Really listening to what the person is advising me to do and then filtering it through this grid in James.

Recently I went to an individual who I considered “godly” to receive some advice. During this conversation it became apparent to me that they harbored envy towards someone I loved dearly. In the beginning I did feel they had my best interest at heart but as I listened further I realized it wasn’t healthy to continue to go to that person for advice.  The last conversation we had left me confused even more and took me a few days to recover from. Needless to say, I learned sometimes it is just best to talk to God. I don’t doubt that this person isn’t on a spiritual journey as well, but wisdom is to know who to take advice from and then filtering it through scripture. I will end with this:

Psalm 1:                                                                                 

“1Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. 4Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.”

Bottom Line God’s word is the ultimate wisdom and if that person isn’t leading you to the word pray for them, and pray for a “godly” person to confide in. Until next time…Abide in the Fellowship of God, be encouraged, and live Fit4eternity!