Are you a trustworthy source?

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. (Colossians 3:16 NLT)

Alexis Carrel reminds us, "All of us, at certain moments of our lives, need to take advice and to receive help from other people." The message of Christ, his goodness and his grace, needs to fill all of our lives, not just the Sunday-parts! Wisdom or counsel is only as trustworthy as the source of such wisdom. When we are teaching one another with the wisdom Christ gives us in our daily study of his Word and the time we spend alone with him, we are truly connecting each other to the wisdom that will guide and protect each other.

Teach and counsel - two very specific actions that have a bit of a different meaning. When we teach someone, we are showing them or instructing them in how something is to be done. When we counsel one another, we are actually giving wise advice that has come from learning at the feet of Jesus. It is a form of guidance to help keep our brother safe and help them with decision-making. We don't counsel often, but when we do it is because the brother has a trust relationship with us.

The trusting relationship is important if counsel is to be sought and heeded. We can be taught by almost anybody that has figured out how to do something, right? If someone drives, they can instruct us in how to drive. If someone bakes bread, they can help us learn that task. If someone has walked through a tough place in life, coming out the other side stronger, with moral integrity and spiritually a bit stronger, we can turn to them for counsel when we are facing difficult decisions ourselves. Why? They don't have all the answers, but they can connect us with the one who does!

We don't seek counsel haphazardly, though. We must trust the one who gives the counsel, it must be based upon God's principles, and it must be sought. We aren't to just go about giving counsel to everyone who 'looks like they need it'. Their heart won't be ready to receive it if they are not seeking it! The brother who seeks our counsel is determined to find help or an answer. We aren't always the source of that answer, but we can join with them as they seek to find it at the feet of Jesus. Just sayin!