I know I'm not the only one who has 'this friend' who loves or is it "lives" to give advice. You know the one who's life is in disarray, but is quick to tell you about yourself and how the world is coming to an end. So, why do I even listen to her? Because though she may not have it altogether, there is some logic I can pull from it. For example, her boyfriend treats her like a queen, but she has to do something in return. I think that is conditional love, but to hear her explanation it made sense to her, and got me to thinking. "Girl, he opens the door for me and buys me nice things. The least I can do is fix his plate for him and clean the house." Of course I chime in with, "Well yeah, but you also have to be in the house at a certain time and talk to your friends while at work. What's up with that?" After a startled look I get this answer. "You know that _____ can't keep secrets and my Boo thinks that is too messy." Okay, I agree with not hanging around with messy people, but how does conditional love compensate for that? It can't, but she is in love with him and appears to be happy. After all, they have been together for three years.
Having said all that above, I think there are people who love God, but don't understand His love in return because they focus on Him being judgemental and angry. Our Father can be angry at times, but He doesn't stop loving us. He continues to love us even more. If He didn't love us we would be in a way more horrible mess. So, out of our own acceptance of His love can we begin to learn of God's great love and share it unconditionally with others.
Here's something to back it all up. God showed how much he loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:9-10
What I get from that is God's love is here for us to receive through His Son Jesus Christ. We are taught of that love in His Word. We are reminded of His love whenever we meet our loved ones, friends, church family, strangers and even those who are hard to love (enemies and ourselves). All I need to do is repent, believe, receive, and share His love with others.
The next time someone gives you advice use the checklist:
1. Is there a message in what they are saying?
2. Does it align with what God says in His Word?
3. Are you listening to God's voice?
4. Is God your first source for advice?
If you answered "no' to any of the questions, consider the source.
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