I Got Some Advice

I Got Some Advice

This week, I got advice from several people.  Now, I truly believe the wise man listens to the counsel of others.  It doesn’t say we have to heed the advice, but we should listen to it.  Now I am not writing about what the content of the advice.  It was some good stuff, and some stuff I already knew, and some stuff that was, well, a bit harsh.  The key take away here is not the content given but the way the advice was given.

Now, we get advice all the time – over the radio, on social media, marketing tools, and so on.  But sometimes we get advice given directly.  One person spent some time getting to know me – heard my story, shared their story, and invested themselves.  The advice was to help me make better connections with others and to improve my personal presentation in job seeking.  The wisdom and the words were sprinkled with grace.  The next advice was given coldly; and though sound, it was more concerned about a procedure than the person.  The medium cut off any further connection and I was sent on my way.

So I ask you, which advice did I really pay attention to?  The question is rhetorical; I think you know the answer.  Let me flip this.  How do I give advice?  Do I sprinkle my words with grace?  Do I invest in others, I mean really invest?  Or do I come across coldly and unconcerned?  I know I have done both along my journey.  I cannot change the past, but I can change the way I help others from here on out.

May my words be sprinkled with grace.  May my life be invested in the life of others.  And may the wisdom shared be grounded in the Word of God.

Now, one more flip.  How do you give advice?  Are you investing in the life of others? I mean really investing?

May grace abound.