Advice isn't wisdom

Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night. So they grow strong, like a tree planted by a stream—a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful. (Psalm 1:1-3)

We receive all manner of advice on how to invest our money, where to buy a car, what neighborhood is the best for our children, and what to wear if we want to impress. All this advice may be of some benefit to us, but there is no 'advice' on this earth that is going to open the door for us to share in relationship with Jesus. We need the wisdom to listen to truth, not just advice. 

Advice might be formed after many trials and errors on someone's part. After failing a good number of times, when they finally find the 'formula' that works, they feel like they can offer their advice with some amount of integrity. While this may be good in terms of which automobile may last us the longest and have the best warranty, it is seldom the 'formula' that will help us to meet Jesus, much less learn to live with him at the center of our lives each day.

Some of us need to listen to less of this world's advice and start pouring over scripture a bit more. It is the wisdom that comes from hearing and incorporating his word into our lives that really helps us live well, make better decisions, and enjoy the company of each other. Yes, we need to understand how interest is compounded so we can make the most of our money, but we also need to know that God is the one who provides for all our needs. We use the wisdom gained through trial and error, comparing it with what God says, and leave behind any 'advice' that doesn't match up to his word.

We all want God's blessing on our life, so we need to forsake the 'advice' of this world and embrace the 'wisdom' God gives through is word, the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and the 'learned wisdom' of those who also follow this path with Christ. The teachings we listen to the most are likely the ones we will embrace the easiest. If we are embracing too much of this world's 'advice', perhaps it is time we listen a bit more to God's word! Just sayin!