So I took a long hiatus from blogging because it's becoming a drudgery and I'm having a hard time finding joy in the work God has placed before me. In Exodus 18, Moses meets up with Jethro, his father-in-law. Here we see three things about counsel and the intentions with which we must pursue or give them with.
1. In counseling others, we must be open with each other with the intent of glorifying God in truth, not in deceit . In this passage, Moses' recounts God's provision during the Israelite's escape from Egypt. Usually however, when we tell someone about how God is working in us we leave out the small dark times we go through, or the complacent times we experienced. Even in our testimonies we use the more glorified version of the events of our lives to make it a more astounding. In this recounting, I believe Moses held nothing back from Jethro, and it's a reminder that the joy from pronouncing God's goodness comes not from our interpretation of God's sovereignty over the events of our lives but comes from God Himself, allowing us to enjoy in His work through another person.
2. Always have a God-centered approach to providing advice. Notice in verse 17-23, Jethro counsels Moses about how he is spending his time. The biblical idea behind this is that duty before God that precedes relationship with God is detrimental to the overall growth of a Christian. Now Jethro didn't give this advice because he felt Moses was doing a poor job at it. He gave this advice so that the Word of God will also be with the people and Moses can have more time to devote to God. And it's also important to discern between godly advice and worldly advice. Note that Moses distinguished between advice Israelite and the elders demanded of him, and the advice that Jethro gives to him. The difference in my opinion, is the center or intent behind the advice. Providing food, nourishment, and basic needs for a large group of people isn't bad advice, but the heart is one that distrusts where God has placed the Israelites in that moment in time. At the same time, doing less ministry work is not necessarily a bad thing, if the intent of doing so is to focus more on God. So the issue here is not the advice given, but the heart of the one giving the advice.
3. Heed godly counsel with reverence and obedience, with a promise of God's provision at the end. Jethro leaves with a note in verse 23. He promises that through his advice, God will 1. Direct Moses, 2. Moses will endure and 3. The people will go home satisfied/in peace. All three of these things are good promises, but the 1st one is what serves as an indicator of Jethro's advice being a godly one. Jethro gave advice, leaving it up to God both how Moses will handle it, how it will be received, and whether it will work or not. And the rest of the promises (two and three) is an assurance of the gifts of the spirit (can also be a reference of Romans 5:3-5). Often when we give advice or counsel we don't become involved in the process as well. Our role is constant prayer over that situation and for wisdom/discernment in future situations where we might be counseling to others as well.
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