The
Opposite Advice
By Lexi Cole Ellis
If
any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all
without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
James 1:5 (NIV)
James 1:5 (NIV)
I
sat in my garage, trying to hold back tears, as I heard my newborn scream. She
suddenly wasn’t a fan of her dad feeding her a bottle. I had read that Mom
shouldn’t be in the room, or sometimes the house, while bottle-feeding because
the baby could smell her. So there I sat, in the garage…until I went in to give
Andrew a break.
Despite
all the books saying otherwise, we eventually
found it was a milk-temperature issue, not my location. So while advice is
good, it’s also relative and situational, to be taken with a grain of salt.
What works for one child - - sometimes the exact opposite ends up being the
remedy. Wisdom is defined as “experience, knowledge, and good
judgment.”[1] That night, wisdom meant following the opposite of the advice.
While
the specifics are different, in Scripture, Job ran into the same thing where he
needed to follow the opposite advice. As tragedy after tragedy strikes, Job’s
friends give him different reasons why these horrific misfortunes have occurred.
And, taken in isolation, it’s not all bad advice, in general. But, for Job’s
situation, true wisdom meant doing the opposite of his friends’ advice and his
own assessment and, instead, trusting God.
I
love what Rachel Held Evans writes in her book, Inspired, regarding this: “Wisdom, it seems, is situational. It
isn’t just about knowing what to say; it’s about knowing when to say it. And
it’s not just about knowing what is
true; it’s about knowing when it’s
true.” [2]
Sometimes
we speak up to help convict; other times we listen. Sometimes God calls us to
step in faith, trusting Him in the unknown; other times He asks us to stay
where we are, rejecting complacency in the midst of normalcy. Sometimes He
wants us to trust Him, even when it doesn’t make sense and it’s the opposite of
the advice. Thankfully, we have God’s Word and the Holy Spirit to help us as we
seek wisdom.
May
we be in tune with the Holy Spirit, asking Him to reveal His wisdom for our
different circumstances and interactions. May we be quick to act and love, even
if it’s the opposite advice.
GOING
DEEPER:
- Find eleven minutes this
week to watch The Bible Project’s video on Job. It goes into more details
about how this book of the Bible calls us to trust God’s wisdom. Click HERE to watch it.
FURTHER
READING:
Lexi’s
family consists of her, her husband, Andrew, her daughter, Sloane, and her dog,
Calvin. She teaches sixth grade Reading and Writing and serves with Children’s
Ministries.
[2]
Inspired:Slaying Giants, Walking on
Water, and Loving the Bible Again
by Rachel Held Evans, Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 2018, 98.
