“I’m Spanish-Italian and my wife is Korean.”
I was being introduced to a mutual acquaintance. He was recounting his first meeting of his future mother-in-law.
“My wife and her brother were all advising me how to properly act when I met her. She is a very traditional Korean woman and physical affection, particularly on the first encounter, is a no-no. I was going crazy trying to absorb all of the information. So when I finally met her, I ignored everything they told me and followed my instincts. I went up to her mother and gave her a big bear hug!”
“Oh my! How did she react?”
He chuckled. “She was stunned. EVERYONE was stunned. But you know what? She was very impressed by my show of affection. She could see I truly loved and cared for her daughter. She trusted me and began to confide in me. In fact, after Sally and I were married, her mother would always ask me for advice for family issues and financial affairs.”
Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory.
Proverbs 11:14 (NASB)
All of us have experienced the wisdom of this proverb. Yet sometimes we need to ignore the advice of others and go with our gut feelings. The Bible recounts a similar story of the Apostle Paul ignoring the advice of his well-meaning friends.
Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”
Acts 21:13-14 (NASB)
The Apostle Paul was being warned by his friends to not continue his missionary journey to Jerusalem because they feared he would be captured by the local Jewish leaders and handed over to the Gentiles to be imprisoned or even executed. Paul acknowledged their concerns but emphatically stated that he was following the command of God. Paul was emboldened and convinced by his years of faithful service to Jesus Christ. For this, he was rewarded with whippings, a stoning, shipwrecks, and imprisonment. Was it worth it? Paul’s triumphant declaration definitively answers this.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ…
Philippians 3:8 (NASB)
Amen!
Love and trust in the Lord; seek His will in your life.
The Bereans Blog 