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“Lots of people who ask for advice really want confirmation.”

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-10) from his book, Spirituality for the Rest of Us: A Down-to-Earth Guide to Knowing God (p. 72). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

They are already convinced that they are right, they just are coming to you to reinforce that they are right.  As Larry says, “When these folks ask for advice, it's not so much a genuine search for wisdom as a ritual designed to prove to themselves and others that they've sought outside guidance before going ahead and doing exactly as they please.  They're easy to spot, because they always follow the same pattern. No matter what I suggest they do, they have ten reasons why it won't work. And no matter how bad their situation, after our meeting they go out and continue doing exactly what got them into the mess in the first place. What's more, they tend to come back to me again and again, each time asking for more advice—though once they get it, they're guaranteed to blow it off as unreasonable and unworkable.”

But we do that many times with God.  And here is the problem with that.  Larry says, “When God gives advice or guidance, it's not coming from a potentially fallible source. It's not the mere advice of a pastor or friend; it's the counsel of God! When God speaks, it doesn't make much sense to push back or give him ten reasons why it won't work. That's an argument we can't win.” 

He continues, “Every time that happens, our relationship with him goes through a fundamental role-reversal. He stops being our God and becomes our cosmic consultant. Now, a consultant is someone whose wisdom we highly value and listen to, but at the end of the day, we make the final decision. That's why they're called consultants. Here's the problem: God doesn't do consulting. Never has. Never will. He does God. When we treat him as a consultant, he simply stops showing up to the meetings. We may think he's there. But he's not.”

Do you know someone who does that?

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