James 3:2 We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.
Proverbs 19:2 Ignorant zeal is worthless; haste makes waste.
Proverbs 17:9 Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend!
Proverbs 12:15 Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice.
Proverbs 15:33 The Fear of God is a school in skilled living— first you learn humility, then you experience glory.
Ecclesiastes 1:16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.”
———
We live in a copycat world. So do not give in to every proposition, suggestion, or tantalizing notion made by others or coming from the media that fills your TV, radio, laptop, or iPhone. There is a better way to live than to follow the tales of so-called influencers. Instead, consider things carefully and patiently in the light of a continuous mentorship originating out of God's will expressed in the Bible.
For you see, very often, sad to say, we are easily influenced by the negative things people say to the degree that we too end up parroting that very influence and speak evil of others (James 3:2); rather than good. But the Bible conveys that “God wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward them, to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies.” (Heidelberg Catechism QA 107)
People who are becoming more and more perfect do not quickly believe every gossip, blabbermouth, or tale monger (Prov 19:2) because they know that our human frailty is susceptible to believing crooked stories and that might easily transfer to our own speech (Prov 17:9). It is to our and other’s benefit not to act rashly or to cling obstinately to another’s opinion, not to believe everything people say, or to spread widely the gossip you may have heard. (Prov 12:15)
Instead, be methodically proactive in finding good counsel with a wise and conscientious person (Prov 15:33). Seek the advice of wise and respectful people around you. Find people who are older, wiser, and “have been around the block” as opposed to preferring your own hasty inclinations. In this way, you create checks and balances over and against your own ideas of things. This kind of good life makes a person wise according to God and gives them a humility about their thoughts and extensive experience in things they might not have gained otherwise (Eccl 1:16). The more humble you are, and the more open to receiving wisdom like this from God, the wiser and the more at peace you will be in all of life.
— An illustrative story ———
From: Ten Fingers for God, the story of the life of Dr Paul Brand, 20th-century leprosy Doctor whom I was able to get to know while I lived in Seattle, WA.
“Leprosy is something different. It carries an aura of the supernatural, as though its victims were no longer people, but somehow accursed, outcasts from the human race. … it’s not a job for doctors.” And so 10-15 million leprosy victims remained untreated in the late 1940s.”
But then enters Dr Paul Brand: “The patient Dr. Cochrane brought Paul fulfilled all the qualifications Paul had. “There he is, just what you asked for. Whatever you do, you can’t make him any worse than he is already.”
Studying the patient closely, Paul felt his eagerness chilling to dismay. A solid-faced young Hindu, Krishnamurthy displayed all the worst hand and foot disabilities of leprosy. There were huge ill-smelling ulcers on the soles of his feet, so deeply infected that the bones lay exposed. The hands were wasted and useless, with fingers curled into a claw position, unable to grasp anything.
Man? No. Animal. A creature reduced to the crudest instincts for survival, cringing like a dog who was constantly kicked and rebuffed, voice turned to a beggar’s whine. Yet the young man’s face was by no means devoid of intelligence. So, this was what leprosy did to a human being, a man made in God’s image! No, not leprosy. His fellow human beings. That’s who did it. For it was the ignorance and thoughtlessness of people, acting through a herd instinct of self-preservation, which had condemned this young boy to a living hell.
“Would you be willing,” Paul asked the young Hindu, “to let me do some operations on your hands and feet?”
So began long weeks and months of testing, of preparation, of experimental surgery, of anxious waiting. The months of research had seemed to prove two facts necessary to justify an attempt at surgery.
“All right, get set,” Paul said. “And let’s be prepared for anything. This may be a bolt of lightning or – just a flash in the pan. Only God knows, and may He help us!”
In spite of the suspense and excitement among the research team, the experiment was shrouded in mystery. Weeks and months passed but the team could not control its jubilation. “Have you heard? Nothing has ever been done like it before!”
“No, no, wait!” Paul cautioned his exuberant colleagues. “We’ve done nothing yet. We know almost nothing. This is only the first step of a baby learning to walk.”
But with great humility and gratitude as well as professional excitement he watched the miracle of transformation occur.
The re-creation of the man was even more satisfying than that of his hands, for Krishnamurthy was a new person. His eyes were bright and alert. He could laugh again, enjoy reading books, and sharpen his keen wit. Curious about these unusual people who had shown him such concern, he listened eagerly to the Christian message and was baptized, choosing to take a new name, John.
(pgs 93-98 Ten Fingers for God by Dorothy Clarke Wilson)
Lead Well! Lead with patient endurance.
Rev Dr Darren Roorda
