Counsel and Christians

In Exodus 19, Moses writes of an interaction with his beloved father in-law. For most of us, we would probably not welcome such a conversation, much less heed the advice. It can be easy for us to dismiss the wisdom of those who "aren't technically" are family. If you come from a Christian world view though, the response of Moses should be a convicting and challenging model.

First, Jethro was truly his family. He was the father of Moses wife. He deserved respect and honor simply because of his position not because he had earned it. The same is true for our inlaws. They are to be respected and listened to because of their standing as parents. Certainly we do not need do everything they might say, but they deserve honor and respect. Besides, they are "technically" are family. Only a world view that sees family as only related to blood would think of in-laws as technically family. For Christians, who know that the family bonds go beyond blood, through the adoption of God, should have a much more appropriate outlook. Second, Jethro was part of Moses spiritual family, adopted into the Covenant Community much like we are in the New Testament. Jethro had come to believe and worship YHWH. Not all of our inlaws fit into this category, although it should be our prayer that they would.

Third, Jethro gives Moses godly wisdom on how to manage and judge the people of Israel. His advice was a gift of the spirit, practical to the life of the community and should be well received. Certainly, many of us don't receive counsel and wisdom well from in-laws. But you probably also don't receive counsel well from anyone. We tend to act like this. We are full of pride, thinking we have it all together. We tend to enjoy the idea that there is no one wiser than us. Of course we all know that this isn't true, but like Adam and Eve before us we have become convinced of a lie. A lie that we don't need others. A lie that we are all knowing. We receive advice with frustration, anger, contempt and worse. But the life of a Christian should be such that we here the counsel of others with humility. We should recognize that we can be self deceptive and need the reflection of others to illuminate our short fallings.

After all, if we can't receive counsel from those around us, what makes us think that we will respond any differently when the word of God challenges us on our behavior, thoughts and words. We might very well treat God as a "father in-law", dismissing his words as critical and carrying on as usual, not realizing the the pride of our hearts and the danger we find ourselves in.