Test What You are Told

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1 NKJV

In a story titled “One Bad Tip Almost Sabotaged My Running. Here’s What Every Runner Should Know Before Changing Their Form” published by Runner’s World earlier this week, the writer said “Nine years ago, a stranger gave me the worst piece of running advice I’ve ever received. It only took one track race for me to realize just how bad the tip was.” The writer went on to explain “I acquired the ill-informed guidance as a naive 15-year-old competing at a summer track meet. After racing the 400 meters, I went into the stands to find my dad, and a random parent sitting nearby told me he had just watched me race–and knew exactly what would help me perform better. The key to running faster? He said I needed to lean back, stretch my legs out far ahead of me, and pull myself forward with every step. Because I didn’t have long legs, he said, I needed to do all that I could to lengthen my stride. I had a gut feeling that the advice seemed faulty, but I gave the parent the benefit of the doubt and put the tip into action at the next track meet I raced at. Spoiler alert: The race didn’t go well. As I rounded the track, I reached my legs forward as far as I could, but I felt unnatural and out of control. It felt awkward to lean my hips backward and stretch my feet out ahead of me. Let’s just say I didn’t use that racing approach ever again.”

As someone who’s also been on the receiving end of bad advice more than once, I’ll say this. I no longer ignore my gut feeling when I sense faulty counsel coming from anyone--whether that be from a stranger, a neighbor, a family member, a close friend, or even another believer. And neither should you. In fact, spiritually speaking, when it comes to believing what any person says, we are told to “test the spirits” to see “whether they are of God because many false prophets have gone into the world.” These false prophets, you can be sure, are people seeking to lead others astray by the spread of false doctrines and the sharing of carnal beliefs, new age ideas, and worldly narratives that go contrary to the Scriptures. Spoiler alert: Listening to them is something that never goes well. 

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Proverbs 13:20

Furthermore, when seeking advice, we should always remember that “he who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed." Which means we should choose to receive counsel only from those people who are faithfully walking with the Lord. And, even then, we mustn't shy away from testing what they say against what the Scriptures say when the Holy Spirit stirs us in a way to indicate that what we're hearing might be 'faulty' information.

“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NKJV

This was something the Bereans were commended for. No matter who the teacher was, they compared their teaching to the Bible (Old Testament in those days) to make sure it was correct… leaving us a model to follow when taking advice of any kind.

So, choose your counselors wisely my friend. Even then carefully check what they say against the Word when prompted to do so, and never give anyone the benefit of the doubt as doing so rarely goes well.

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that we should never blindly follow anyone’s teachings or advice. Give us discernment Lord to sense when a piece of advice or a teaching goes against the Word that we might not only abstain from listening but point out the error to prevent another person from being led astray. It’s in your precious name we pray, Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!