When I graduated from High School, I filled my Yearbook with hopeful phrases and inside jokes from all of my closest friends. I thought very hard about what I’d write next to my picture when I was asked to sign one in return. “Never change” was the phrase I came up with! Original, I know. But somehow I thought it captured the moment of who we all were in that season and to be honest, I thought it sounded cool too. Now, I look back in embarrassment.

It can be easy to feel bombarded with opinions, advice, horror stories, and incredibly personal questions from complete strangers when walking into a new season of life! It’s all a part of the journey after all. It can be hard to decipher which people to listen to and which people to remove from the bucket of ideas you’re already swimming in. Thankfully, most of these opinions come with good intentions, but they can still feel heavy.

The Proverbs strongly encourage us to heed the advice we’re given, but they also tell us to stay away from foolish company. Proverbs 13:10 says, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

The world loves to give us “self-help” thatsoundsreally good but is nothing short of foolish. I see bumper stickers and graphic t-shirts all the time and can’t believe the foolish “advice” we plaster all over ourselves! It may sound like it has “good intentions” but it’s a manipulation of pride. The only true advice we can count on comes from the word of God and the Spirit Himself.

I may “trigger” you with this next statement. My chosen yearbook quote isn’t biblical. “Never change” is in complete contradiction to the entire gospel! Jesus changes everything! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

So as we grow in faith and seek Godly advice, let us first turn to the scripture and lay our pride at the altar. We have everything we need sitting in those ancient pages.