Here Comes Trouble Again! # 2a

Our differences are revealed, not during our GOOD TIMES, but during the BAD TIMES in our lives!

One thing we all seem to do during the DIFFICULT TIMES in life is to turn to our friends for sound advice. Most of the time when we do this what we get is not good sound advice, but a lot of RHYMES and CLICHÉS.

Illus: When we talk to our friends about the DIFFICULT TIMES in our life they will says something like:

• “Grin and bear it!”

• “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”

• “When you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot on the end of it and hang on.”

I do not know how you feel about receiving this kind of advice, but I find no comfort in these witty sayings.

Illus: Much of the advice we get reminds me of the advice a father gave his daughter which was absolutely useless.

One day, his wife was sorting through some "treasured" stuff her daughter had accumulated over the years. She came across a questionnaire Elizabeth, her daughter, had filled out while completing her master's degree at the local university.

In response to the question, "What was the most important advice you received from your mother?" Elizabeth had written, "Always rely on your own good judgment."

The next question was, "What was the most important advice you received from your father?" Elizabeth answered, "Ask your mother."

(Stories for Preachers and Teachers © 1999 by Heavenward Inc.)

All these CLICHÉS and RHYMES do not do us a lot of good when we are going through the hard times of life.

• A lot of the advice that others give us is empty, because they do not even practice the things they are advising us to do!

• Often the advice we get is from people who do not know what they are talking about.

Illus: Those who give such advice, remind me of a city man that was traveling down a country road when his car sputtered to a complete stop near a field filled with cows. The driver, getting out to see what was the matter, noticed one of the cows looking at him.

• To his amazement, the cow spoke and said to him, "I believe it's your radiator," The man nearly jumped right out of his city slicker britches! He ran to the nearest farmhouse and knocked on the door.

• "A cow just gave me advice about my car!" he shouted, waving his arms frantically back toward the field.

• The farmer nonchalantly leaned out beyond the door frame to glance down the field. "The cow with two big black spots on it?" the farmer asked slowly. "Yes! Yes! That's the one!" the excited man replied.

• "Oh. Well, that's Ethel," the farmer said, turning back to the man. “Don't pay any attention to her. She doesn't know a thing about cars."

So much of the advice we received is from people who don’t know a thing about what they are talking about. To hear them talk, you would think they took nine years of college and majored in the subject they are giving you advice on. Most of the time they do not know as much as the person they are giving advice too.

Illus: The famous actress, Billie Burke, was enjoying a transatlantic ocean trip. The actress, noticed that a gentleman at the next table was suffering from a bad cold.

• She asked him sympathetically, "Are you uncomfortable?"

• The man acknowledged that he did not feel well.

• She said, "I'll tell you just what to do for it. Go back to your room and drink lots of orange juice. Take two aspirins. Cover yourself with all the blankets you can find. Sweat the cold out. I know just what I'm talking about. I'm Billie Burke from Hollywood."

• The man smiled warmly and introduced himself in return. He said, "Thanks. I'm Dr. Mayo of the Mayo Clinic." (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 21.)

Now it may sound like I am against receiving advice, but that is not true! Advice has to be weighed! That is, before we receive it, we need to consider:

• Who is giving the advice.

• What kind of advice they are giving

Illus: Someone said, “Good advice is like caster oil, easy enough to give but dreadful uneasy to take."

God made it so we have family and friends who love us, and they can give us some wonderful advice!

Prov. 11:14 “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.”

The best advice we can get for HARD TIMES is from the Word of God. This is why you as Christians need to: