Free Advice May Be Worth Every Penny

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building --Ezra 4:4 (KJV)

Any time any of us start a new project or begin to do things differently, change our habits or lifestyle or whatever, one of the easiest things to find is a counselor to tell us all the reasons we are wrong and why what we are doing will never work.  My granddaughter used to occasionally reverse the position of words in sentences, e.g., “more some” instead of “some more”, when she was very small.  She has occasionally exhibited indications of dyslexia and has more trouble with reading comprehension than with math.  Starting college, she is taking fourteen hours, the minimum for a full-time student, as she will be working a few hours. 

As if I needed more proof that Fakebook is of the devil, some members of her family – unfortunately not people who live close enough for me to slap without taking off work – posted dire warnings on F(i)b that she was taking too many hours.  They are “afraid” she won’t be able to handle fourteen hours with her very mild dyslexia which I think she has mostly outgrown.  Of course, what these naysayers are really afraid of is that she will be successful and that she will make certain other family members look bad by contrast.  Also, she has long been saddled with the chore of befriending a particular relative who is such an obnoxious pain in the rear that the dog wouldn’t play with her if she were wearing a sausage necklace.   Now that my granddaughter has a rather full schedule this unattractively packaged, socially inept individual is going to have to grow up and develop her own life or sit home commiserating with Blue Bell and Honey Boo-Boo. 

The context of Ezra’s narrative is the gradual return of the people of Judah from their seventy-year Babylonian exile to Jerusalem and their God-given land.  They were given an initial authorization to rebuild their temple and resume worshiping God according to His requirements.  When the Jews were taken into captivity, rather than leave the land empty, the conquerors took people from other lands and settled them in these areas.  These foreigners were present as the first exiles returned to their homeland.  They offered to join the Jews in rebuilding the temple and participating in worship.  This was contrary to the laws of God, and they were rightfully refused, with the Jewish leaders saying (verse 3), “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel ….”  If these Gentiles had submitted themselves to the law of God and become Jewish proselytes, as someone like Cornelius did (Acts 10), they could have been accepted and joined in worshiping the One True God.

These troublemakers were not, however, sincerely seeking holiness and a right relationship with the God of Abraham.  The Lord God of Israel was simply another deity to them, no different from the idols, images, and broken entities they habitually entreated.  They thought their “gods” were perhaps associated with specific locales or objects, and thus it might be necessary to appease the local spirit to whom the returning Jews would sacrifice.  When their offer to join their profane efforts with the holy work of Zerubbabel and Jeshua was rejected, they were not humbled but offended.  They were determined to thwart the Jews as they sought to rebuild. 

Some of the people around us are encouragers; some, probably most, are indifferent to us; a few are always going to be actively fighting us.  Our opponents may be so because they don’t like our haircuts or the cut of our jib or the fact that we wear boxer-briefs.  There are always people who irritate us or whom we irritate on contact.  It can’t be helped.  Some people think they know better than we do how to live our own lives.  Other folks, as we often note, can’t control themselves so they try to control others.  Some build themselves up by tearing someone else down.  The reasons a person resists our efforts to follow God or live holy lives are many and varied and not things we can fix.  It is necessary only that we behave righteously and justly, avoiding objectively offensive behavior. 

We may be confident in our new endeavors, but negativity can still weaken our resolve.  There are always going to be difficulties and challenges as we begin something, and when we encounter those rough spots we are apt to hear echoes of our opposition prophesying our failure and defeat.  It’s best, really, if we can avoid ever hearing those discouraging words in the first place.  Be careful with whom you share your dreams.  There’s nothing wrong with objectivity.  A realistic assessment of the obstacles is always beneficial.  Wise and good counselors encourage achievement without glossing over potential pitfalls.  Fools may still try to burn us, but let us refrain from offering them kindling and matches.