The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong.. (Psalm 37:30)
“Good counsel” in Hebrew means:
…which all find their source in God’s Word.
“Teach right from wrong” means instructions that are:
…which all become a testimony which points others to the soundness in God’s Word.
Do you want to lead better?
Yes!
Then ask God for wisdom.
Got it?
Yes!
Good!
Now ask Him for more—“If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God Who gives to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5)
Get it?
Got it.
Good, get more!
Related posts:
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
A bite we have all experienced is gossip. We called flattery the sneaky bite, but I think gossips believe they are actually being sneaky—that somehow they are getting away with their gossip. I think gossip is also sneaky because we can be pulled into a gossipy conversation almost without realizing what is happening.
That’s because gossip usually has a veneer of truth on it. That thin coating of truth may be sugary sweet, but the words hide a bitter poison that is intended to undermine the one that is being talked about. Twice Solomon says, “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels” (Proverbs 18:8, 26:22). The Contemporary English Version translates this verse even more graphically: “There’s nothing so delicious as the taste of gossip! It melts in your mouth.” But Solomon also warns, “A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends” (Proverbs 16:28).
Consider the story in Numbers 12:1-9.
(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)
Moses had married a Cushite woman, a marriage that was neither morally nor legally wrong. If someone simply said, “Moses married a woman from Cush” they would have been speaking the truth. The gossips (Miriam and Aaron) want to use a truthful statement for the purpose of making a case to prove their point. These siblings crossed the line when they stopped talking about the idea and start talking about Moses. This is especially true when their conversation about Moses was to make him look inferior or to make themselves look superior.
I think a label that is very apropos for this is “character assassination.” An assassin gets close enough to strike, but also has an alibi to cover themselves. So, too, the gossip can inject their poison to denigrate someone’s character, but then use the alibi of saying, “What? Did I say something untruthful?”
There is truth in their questions that God has used all three of them to delver messages and to sing worship songs, but in light of their statement in verse 1 they are clearly asking these questions with poisonous intent. You can especially spot gossip by this characteristic sign: They talk about a person, but they won’t talk to that person. We are not told to whom Miriam and Aaron may have been speaking to in verse 2, but it certainly wasn’t Moses. That means they were trying to get other people to rally to their side.
When we have been the target of a gossip’s words, we should follow the example that Moses gave us.
Remember that God has heard the gossip (Numbers 12:2b, 4-8). And one final word to all of us: Don’t become a gossip yourself!
Just as God hears those gossiping about you, He hears you gossiping about others!
Don’t…
Gossip, as Solomon warned us, separates even the closest of friends. We must identify it and deal with both the gossip and the gossiper in a God-honoring, biblically-sound way. And we must avoid becoming a gossip ourselves.
If you’ve missed any of the other sheep bites we’ve talked about in this series, you can find them all by clicking here. And if you are a pastor, check out my book When Sheep Bite, where I address the bites of sheep from a leadership paradigm.
►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎
Happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is the man who finds skillful and godly Wisdom, and the man who gets understanding [drawing it forth from God’s Word and life’s experiences]. (Proverbs 3:13 AMPC)
Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “God has, in fact, written two books, not just one. Of course, we are all familiar with the first Book He wrote, namely Scripture. But He has written a second book called creation.”
God’s Word tells us about our life’s experiences, and it tells us about our observations of His creation and our experiences. These observations and experiences should take us back to God’s Book to fully appreciate and apply them in a manner which glories God.
I shared this video last week with my Patreon supporters. When we’re unclear about all that God has asked us to do, the first step is to obey the part that is clear to us. Check out my blog post Clearing up the Confusion for more insight on how Peter handled this.
I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
T.M. Moore calls on Christians to recognize the God-given authority our leaders have. Not just recognize, but submit to that authority: “We show that we believe the Lord and trust in His Word, and we demonstrate the evidence of that faith when we submit to our church leaders as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23-24). Submitting to proper authorities is an integral component of full faith. If we want to gain the benefit God intends for us from those appointed to lead, we’re going to have to learn to submit.”
“Talent is never enough. With few exceptions the best players are the hardest workers.” —Earvin Magic Johnson
“Take your job seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously.” —Alex Trebek
The American Bible Society reports that Gen Z is engaged with Scripture less than any other generation. But here is a sad outcome: “Scripture Engagement is associated with significantly lower anxiety levels among all Americans, but especially among Generation Z. The anxiety score for Bible Engaged Gen Z respondents (3.4) is less than half that of the anxiety score for Bible Disengaged Gen Z respondents (7.1).”
What if the qualifications in Acts 6:3 were the only qualifications we used for selecting folks for ministry assignments: (a) good reputation, (b) full of the Holy Spirit, and (c) full of wisdom?
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
A meme that makes me chuckle every time I see it is a “quote” attributed to Abraham Lincoln in which he says, “The problem with quotes found on the internet is that they are often not true.”
(Not to spoil the joke for you, but unless Lincoln knew how to time travel to the future, I don’t think he knew about the modern internet! 😂)
I love this meme because it captures something that so many people fall into: a quick acceptance of a statement without verifying its source or thinking through the implications of the statement’s truthfulness.
Some insightful comments sound Shakespearean, but William never wrote them.
Some pieces of wisdom sound Socratic, but Socrates never taught them.
Some religious maxims sound godly, but the Bible never recorded them.
I would like to invite you to join me as we relaunch this series called Is That In The Bible? I think you may be surprised to discover just how many phrases we call biblical aren’t, and how many phrases there are that we never realized are actually in the Bible.
By the way, if you have a phrase that you would like to have us explore in this series, please leave it in a comment below. You may want to check out the questions we have already addressed:
In this installment of this series, we asked: Is this in the Bible…
The Sovereign Lord has given me His words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to His will. … Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do His will. And I know that I will not be put to shame. (Isaiah 50:4, 7 NLT)
God’s words give me wisdom and strength. It doesn’t matter what others say when I live and speak the way God wants me to because God sees my obedience and He will reward me in the end. I don’t live for the applause of men, but only for the applause from nail-scarred hands.
Check out two related blog posts:
I also spend quite a bit of time unpacking this idea of what really matters to God in my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.
The Holy Spirit knows the best place to use us, the best time to use us, and the best way to use us. We must trust Him! I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“In our rush to be thanked or appreciated, or even in our shortsighted compassion, we can undermine the good God is patiently working. In that sense our good is actually evil, for it resists the wisdom, love, and transformative lessons of God.” —Dick Brogden, in Proverbs: Amplified and Applied
I love this quote in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring when Merry Brandybuck tells Frodo about the stick-to-it-iveness of his friends: “You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone. … We are your friends, Frodo.”
Here is a really cool mini-biography of Evan Jones, who was a missionary to the Cherokee Indians in the early 1800s.
I love this devotional from John Piper about God-given foes and God-given faith. “The logic of fearlessness in the face of adversity is this double truth: Both your adversity and your faith in the face of adversity are gifts of God.”
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Bruce Barton said, “When you’re through changing, you’re through!” I think the same thing could be said about a leader’s learning—when you think you’ve learned it all, your leadership is beginning to crumble.
I never want to get to the place where I think I have “arrived” as a leader, but I want to be humble enough to admit that there are so many things I have yet to learn. Jesus reminded us, “Every student of the Scriptures who becomes a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like someone who brings out new and old treasures from the storeroom” (Matthew 13:52 CEV).
“New and old treasures” tells me that there’s some good stuff we need to protect, and also some good stuff we haven’t yet learned.
Here are three new things the Holy Spirit has recently taught me:
Acts 6:3 says, “Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them.”
My lesson: The résumé for those that are to be placed in ministry leadership positions should include servant-heartedness, Christlike character, wise experience for the task, and reliance on the Holy Spirit.
“This Moses whom they disowned…is the one God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer” (Acts 7:35).
My lesson: When God calls someone His leader, it doesn’t matter if the world calls them disowned. It’s not about popularity with men, but faithfulness to God.
Notice the plural pronoun “they” in 1 Kings 11:33.
My lesson: When King Solomon sinned, he then gave license to the people to follow his example. As the leader goes, so go the people.
I hope you are learning new things every day. In fact, feel free to share in the comments something new you’ve learned.
This is part 73 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.
►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
When I was younger—and so much more immature—I thought it would diminish my leadership if I ever answered, “I don’t know” to any question. As a result, I fired off very self-assured answers that probably weren’t well thought-out.
They probably weren’t very God-honoring answers either.
Once a leader is “on the record” with an answer, they will usually defend their stance even if it appears to be wrong. After all, they must save face at all costs.
A downward slide continues when a leader then uses their position of authority to say something like, “Because I’m the leader and I said so!” With this stance, people are often repelled from that leader.
How much better to to wait before giving an answer—to give up the need to always be “The Answer Man”!
And better yet, let’s not give anyone our answer, but let’s seek God for HIS answer! Not only will this be the best answer, but God will defend Himself without us having to step in to “help” Him.
With this stance, the people are not only drawn to this godly leader but they are drawn to God as well.
Consider these examples from Moses:
So the next time someone asks your opinion, pause. Remember that it’s okay to say, “I’m not sure how to answer you on that one. I need to hear what God has to say about this.” Let’s give up the desire to be “The Answer Man” for everything. Instead we can simply announce the answer that God has given.
This is part 69 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.
►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎
Craig T. Owens 