Advice about Advice

One of the personal struggles that I'm working on right now is how I respond to advice.

Part of my problem is that I'm too used to dealing with authority figures. Teachers have authority over their students. Supervisors have authority over employees. Parents have authority over their children. And church leaders have authority over the church. Often, the "advice" I hear is really more like "commands," than mere "suggestions" or "possible options." So, when one of my peers gives me advice, I treat it like I treat the "advice" that I get from other people, like the person thinks they have the authority to tell me what to do.

In essence, I respond badly to advice, especially when I already feel stressed or overwhelmed, but a conversation I had after my less-than-good response helped me learn a better way to consider advice: to merely consider it. Think about it for a while, weigh the pros and cons, and discern for myself whether I, personally, should heed that advice at this time. Advice should almost always be considered, but not always heeded. Regardless of the advice we get, or who we get it from, we should always think and choose for ourselves.

So, my advice about how to respond to advice is to take it with a grain of salt, so to speak. Even the best-intended advice can be wrong sometimes, and even generally wise advice can be not right for a given person at a given time. You and God know your situation better than anyone, so while it's wise to seek wisdom from many potential sources, only you and God can say for sure what advice you should follow or disregard.

I hope that I can develop the wisdom to be willing to listen to other people's advice and still have the wisdom to make my own, then better-informed, decisions.