Giving - and taking - the proverbial advice
Giving - and taking - the proverbial advice
15 August 2022
When it comes to giving and taking advice, take a leaf out of the Good Book. Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? Perhaps it was ‘Be yourself’. In these times of COVID-19, it could be ‘wash your hands' and ‘observe social distancing’.
Advice offered to graduates in the US included “Wherever life takes you, take a servant’s attitude” from Mike Pence, former US Vice President. Politician Stacey Abrams offered, “Ask for it and if you don’t get what you need, ask for it again.”
Now, I don’t know if either of these people are Christians, but their words of wisdom certainly resonate with the teaching of Jesus.
A proverb is a “short, concise sentence that conveys moral truth” and the Bible has a whole book of them.
Its 915 verses were written by King Solomon, reputed to be the wisest man who ever lived. Many of them have become part of our everyday language, such as “Pride goes ... before a fall” (Proverbs chapter 16, verse 18 NLT), or “Never boast about tomorrow. You don’t know what will happen between now and then” (Proverbs chapter 27, verse 1 GNB), which we often abbreviate to ‘God willing’.
We could all heed a verse in these times of inequality and persecution in the world: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed” (Proverbs chapter 31, verse 8 NLT).
We all likely have a different view on what the best advice is in the Bible, but top of my list comes, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way” (Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5-6 GNB).
Of course, it’s easier to offer advice than it is to take it. And the Bible covers that too, when it says, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew chapter 7, verse 5 NIV). Ouch! But, oh so true.
So perhaps the question should be, “What’s the best advice you’ve taken?”
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