Devotionals

---

Acts 27: 11-12: “But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.” -NIV


I find that I get a lot of advice these days. I try to listen to all of it (that is polite) but I only follow some of it. It is good to figure out in advance who you are going to just listen to and who you are going to follow. When I am making a plan of action I know in advance that many people are going to want input into that plan, my wife, my friends, my children, my boss, my pastor, the man behind the deli... well the list goes on. Some are experts and some are just Sea Lawyers.

When I was in the navy we had a lot of time on our hands out at sea. We would spend a lot of that time sitting around and telling stories, we really got to know one another, we got to see who was smart and who was... not as gifted. We also got to see who thought he was smart. The Sea Lawyer was someone who had an answer for everything. Every conversation he had to have input in, and he has lots of advice to give, all with an air of "knowledge" and most of it wrong. For my first few months on my first boat, I am sad to say, I was the sea lawyer. I quickly learned that the bad advice I was giving led to most people not listening to me at all. Eventually I learned that I had to only speak about what I really knew and not about everything. I earned more respect and eventually people started coming to me for real advice about things I could really help on. When Paul spoke to the centurion he was talking with great authority about what God would do. The pilot and owner believed in their own knowledge and the centurion who was used to dealing with the world and not with God listened to the seemingly wise knowledge. If you are in doubt about anything you should ask around and the centurion was wise to do that. But if what you need advise on has anything to do with God do not ask around just ask God and ask those whom you trust to give you Gods word. The majority is not always right, the Sea Lawyer is usually wrong but with God's word can never fail.

By Gethsemene Rose
© can be used with permission just copy the entire devotion including this contact information & contact [email protected] to let us know where you are using it.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE