when in doubt check it out...

when in doubt, check it out. if you don't do this then typically you're going to make a lot of unnecessary mistakes in life. your stress level will be much higher than it needs to be. it doesn't have to be there. you will fumble and fall, waste time, energy, and money on decisions you should never have made in the first place. you need to check it out.

isn't it typical that what we often do is start asking for advice and we keep asking until we find someone who will agree with what we want anyway?

as a pastor this happened a lot of times. a couple will come and ask me for advice that clearly GOD doesn't want them to do and i tell them, "don't do it" so they go to another church. they find a pastor there but if the pastor is grounded, he'll tell them no too.

one pastor said that he had been in a group of pastors in the same area and they were talking about couples or individuals who had been to five or six different pastors trying to get the right answer but nobody would tell them what they wanted to hear

another reason why we don't like to check out major decisions with other believers is because we don't want to be told we're wrong but it's better to be told you're wrong before you waste the time, energy and money than it is after and you have all the heartache and hurt from a stupid decision. if you've heard from GOD, really heard from GOD, other CHRISTians are going to confirm it.

proverbs 11.9 (tev), the wisdom of the righteous can save you.

save what? money, time, reputation. it is safe to ask mature believers to evaluate impressions. you need to get people who love you enough to level with you.

if you have an idea and you've wondered, is this really from GOD and you check it out with other mature CHRISTians, if other mature believers question it, you should too.

i'm not saying not to do it but i'm saying a red flag ought to go up, a yellow warning light ought to go on that says, maybe i'm not getting this right. if other mature CHRISTians question it, you ought to also.

if you get an idea and you think it is from GOD and you can't find any mature believers (you might find an immature one – a brand new CHRISTian or someone not walking with the LORD to agree with it) but if you can't find any mature CHRISTians to agree with the decisions, don't do it. drop it.

just a thought from the front porch…