Thursday, April 15, 2010

Will you tell me no?

Two questions from Steven Furtick's blog struck me this morning.
  • Do you have anyone in your life who won't let you go where you shouldn't go, and do what you shouldn't do?
  • Are you surrounded by people who love you enough to stand in your way when you're about to do something stupid?

He was talking about buffer friends. You know, "the ones who talk you down from the ledge, and protect you from your worst enemy - yourself." Sometimes we are reckless. Sometimes we don't see the blind spots. Sometimes we are just plain foolish or unwise. Who is around you that will stop you from going there?

The other side of that is you not only have to have those people in your life, but you also have to be willing to open up to them. You have to let them know you are climbing up on the ledge. You have to talk them about the things you are planning. You have to be honest with them about what is going on in your life. If you don't do that, then what good is it to have them in your life. They can't stand in your way to protect you if they don't know about it. So not only is it important to find these type of friends, but then you have to let them into your life - your thoughts, your actions, your attitude - all of it. Otherwise you will still be jumping in those areas that might not be in your best interest.

So who are those people? Don't have any, then find some. Have some, then let them know how much they mean to you and thank God for them. Seems like the type of community we need to be surrounding ourselves with. Who needs another person around telling you to go for it? I need someone who is willing to tell me no or that something isn't in my best interest. Those seem a lot harder to find.

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