Advice for Fledgelings

Advice for Fledgelings 1. Do not forget God and all His benefits. PSA 103:2-5 ct/w 2CH 32:25; ROM 1:21. 2. Fear God. This is your duty, the beginning of wisdom, and moral restraint. ECC 12:13-14; PRO 9:10; NEH 5:15. a. Hate what God hates. DEU 16:22; PSA 11:5; 97:10; PRO 6:16-19; 8:13. b. Love what God loves. PSA 11:7; JER 9:24; MIC 6:8; PSA 87:2. c. Do not confuse these (ISA 5:20). There are absolutes. Grey is not possible without black and white: “...Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (ROM 12:9). 3. Repent, believe, commit to Christ and His kingdom. MAR 1:15; ACT 2:38. a. If you do not join this church, you should seek another of like precious faith. b. You know too much of what is right, and God will hold you accountable for every compromise. JAM 4:17. c. If you don’t answer when He calls, don’t be surprised if He doesn’t answer when you call. PRO 1:24-32. 4. Read your Bible regularly, assimilating its wisdom through Jesus Christ. COL 2:3. 5. Forsake not the good instruction your parents gave you. PRO 6:20-21. 6. Use your independence and liberty wisely. GAL 5:13; 1PE 2:15-16; PSA 119:45. 7. Keep yourself pure (1TI 5:22) from idolatry, fornication, drugs, alcoholism, filthy speech, etc. 8. Control your passions, or else! PRO 16:32; 25:28; JAM 1:19-20. 9. Wisely manage your speech. PRO 18:21; ECC 10:20; MAT 12:34. a. Speak truth, even though it hurts. GAL 4:16. b. Speak what you know (JOH 3:11). Empty wagons make the most noise. Ignorance is revealed more through words than silence. PRO 15:2; 17:28. c. Cultivate sound speech (TIT 2:8). Bridle the idle (JAM 3:2; MAT 12:36). 10. Choose your companions wisely. PRO 13:20 c/w PSA 119:63. a. You will be affected by, and known by the company you keep. b. A true friend will do what’s best for you. PRO 27:6, 9, 17. c. “A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.” (Baltasar Gracian) 11. Do not rush to judgment (PRO 18:13; JOH 7:51). Condemnation without investigation is the height of arrogance. Approval without investigation can be very costly. 12. Do not judge by appearance alone (JOH 7:24) but understand that the first impression you give others carries much weight in this world. 13. Hold fast your integrity, good principles and conscience. JOB 27:5; ACT 24:16. a. b. c. d. e. Do not forfeit these for personal advantage nor because of pressure from others. Do not fold to false accusation. Better to risk loss than abandon integrity. Only compromise in negotiable areas, not in bedrock principles. Let not the love, fear or praise of others determine your principles. 1CO 4:3. Virtue is its own reward. Be good for goodness’ sake. Character is easier kept than recovered, and is more important in others than their wealth or looks. love money (1TI 6:9-10) but neither discredit its usefulness. ECC 10:19. 14. Do not 15. Avoid “get rich quick” thinking. PRO 28:20, 22; 13:11; 10:4. a. Be diligent in business, as unto God. ROM 12:11. b. Eschew debt. PRO 22:7. 16. Do not think you can get away with robbing God. PRO 3:9 c/w MAL 3:8-9. 17. Do not slight the servant, the garbage-man, the dishwasher, etc. At least they’re working. If all subsidies were taken away, such jobs would become precious to many. Wisdom is profitable to Advice for Fledgelings 1-27-19 Page 1 direct (ECC 10:10, 15) but all good labor has its place, and “...time and chance happeneth to them all” (ECC 9:11). 18. Material things are less important than relationships and others’ well-being. PRO 15:17; 2CO 12:14. 19. Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle. Laziness frets; godliness does something positive. Don’t be a murmurer. PHIL 2:14-15. 20. Expect to see and experience injustice but fret not to do evil (ECC 5:8; PSA 37:1-9). Trouble you bring on yourself is not injustice, it’s consequence. GAL 6:7; PRO 19:3. 21. Expect to make mistakes, learn from them, avoid repeating them. a. Do not let the fear of error stop you from making a decision. Better to make a wrong decision and learn from it than to make no decision. b. If you must stumble, stumble forward. Accept responsibility for your mistake and move on. Admit error to God always and to others as needed; apologize; resolve to do better. c. Emotion-led small decisions are one thing; emotion-led big decisions are another. d. If you lack knowledge or counsel: seek, assimilate, act. e. Paralysis in decision may be owing as much (maybe moreso) to fear and pride than to the actual weightiness of the issue at hand. 22. Don’t blow things out of proportion (GEN 30:1; JOB 13:19), especially if you do so in order to justify your unwillingness to do right. NUM 14:36. 23. Choose your battles wisely and sparingly. a. Life will send you an ample share of battles to fight; you need not drum up extras that rob you of valuable time and resources for taking care of needful things. PRO 18:6; 20:3. b. Be especially wary about injecting yourself into others’ battles. PRO 26:17. 24. Respect others if you expect to be respected, and the best respect is earned respect. 25. Give others a chance. Be reasonable with them. Put yourself in their shoes. a. Treat them as you would want to be treated. MAT 7:12. b. Be ready and willing to forgive. LUK 17:3. c. “In reasoning with others, we should use soft words and hard arguments.” (Matthew Henry) 26. Be harmless. MAT 10:16 c/w HEB 7:26. a. Do harm to none by word or deed. b. You will never have to regret having good manners or uplifting others. c. Stand tall by your own merits, not by crushing others down. d. Do not break faith with others. If you have given your word, honor it. PRO 25:19. 27. If something seems too good to be true, exercise great caution. GEN 3:3-5. 28. Embrace self-discipline. Your success in all good things depends on it. 29. Cleave to saving power of faith and hope. ROM 4:18; 8:24. 30. Love, especially selfless love, remains the most powerful force for good. 1CO 13:13. 31. Pray (unless you are in control of the universe). 32. When you are at your wit’s end and tired of your rebellion, God is there. ISA 55:7. Advice for Fledgelings 1-27-19 Page 2