Is that an old wives' tale?

Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. (I Timothy 4:7-9)

Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales. How many 'myths' do we buy into in our lifetime that really have no foundation in truth? Mom used to say a baby with an uncovered head to bare feet would catch a death of a cold, but today you see very few parents actually using baby bonnets to cover their child's head and those wee ones have had little to no sickness! She also told me if I swallowed gum it would stay in my body for something like seven years, but science has debunked that myth. There are tons of myths we buy into, yet they have no real basis in reality. What is most important is that we don't buy into myths about how we should serve God, what he expects of us, or how it is we 'get into heaven'. 

Some widely held 'spiritual myths' exist, don't they? Some still believe the words of Ben Franklin, "God helps those who help themselves", are biblically based, but in truth, you won't find this in scripture. Cleanliness is next to godliness is not truly scriptural but was believed to be first taught by John Wesley. Angels are really dead people who have 'earned their wings'. I challenge you to find that one anywhere in scripture! If we want to be wise children, we need to understand what IS and ISN'T in scripture, then test everything we are told to believe against scripture. While Wesley taught cleanliness is next to godliness, he may have been hinting at the importance of 'inner cleanliness' vs. outer cleanliness. While both are important, a man can 'wash' as many times as possible and still have an unclean inner spirit!

Guarding ourselves from 'myths' gets a bit easier when we have a knowledge of what scripture really says and the tutelage of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Training to be godly is indeed of great value, but we don't do it in a bubble. We need good spiritual teachers, such as our pastors and church leaders, but we also need to heed the warnings and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To have a limited understanding of what scripture actually says because we don't get into it ourselves is leaving us wide open to believing all manner of myths and untrue teaching. So, do yourself a huge favor and get into the Word today. You won't regret the journey, nor will you be a 'gullible' toward untrue teaching! Just sayin!