Counsel, and Correction

 Happy Sunday!

"Take good counsel and accept correction— that’s the way to live wisely and well. We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails."(Proverbs 19:20-21 Message).

Several of my managers have commented about how easy it is to coach me.  Now, don't get it twisted.  I don't like being wrong, I don't enjoy being accused of things I didn't do, and I work hard to do the right thing.  I do make mistakes, and I am open to try things another way.  Honestly, sometimes I do it their way just to prove that they are wrong.  But most of the time, their way works and my numbers show it. 

We humans want to do it our way.  We have been singing songs for decades about "Doing It My Way".  Years ago when I worked at Officer Funeral Home in East Saint Louis, Illinois, they had a audio system that could play soft reflective music in the chapels.  I found that there were some other options on the playlist, and happened to have Frank Sinatra playing when Mrs. Myrtle B. Officer walked in.  She heard the song and quipped, "We only do it my way here!"  I took that as a cue to turn that selection off. 

Jesus is our perfect example.  He said, "The truth is that the Son does nothing on His own; all these actions are led by the Father. The Son watches the Father closely and then mimics the work of the Father."(John 5:19 Voice).  The Apostle Paul later picked up on this same theme and encouraged the Believers to remain teachable.  In Ephesians 5:1-2 he wrote, "Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that."(Message).

In life, in work, and in relationships we must never stop learning, and always be willing to admit that we don't know it all.  The enemy is a great deceiver and works overtime to get us focused on the wrong things while the important things fall by the wayside.  It's good to remember, "Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life."(Galatians 6:7-8 Message).

Love and prayers, Cynthia