Giving/taking unsolicited advice?

[steve-in-kville]

In other words giving or getting advice or opinions you didn't ask for.

I personally feel there is a tactful way of making suggestions to others who I feel are struggling. As far as taking such advice, I don't do so well and its something I must work at. A big turn off are people who think they know God's will for everyone's life and are in a hurry to give it.

Discuss at will. I have no direction for this thread.

[Grace]

In other words giving or getting advice or opinions you didn't ask for.

I personally feel there is a tactful way of making suggestions to others who I feel are struggling. As far as taking such advice, I don't do so well and its something I must work at. A big turn off are people who think they know God's will for everyone's life and are in a hurry to give it.

Discuss at will. I have no direction for this thread.

Agree 100% . Especially the line I underlined, which is well said. Does the attitude of knowing "God's will for everyone's life and are in a hurry to give it", come from a proud heart?

As for taking advice, the best thing I have found is to listen to the other person. Then evaluate the advice and determine if there is something in that advice that I could improve on. If there isn't, I just dismiss it. Then there are those who get offended when you don't take their advice. I am not always sure how to respond in those cases, especially when that advice is really inconsequential, such as how you should cook eggs, make the right moves when playing Rook, etc.

Another issue that I find particularly annoying, yet somewhat amusing, is when someone wants to talk things out and have a discussion on a troubling matter. Yet in the conversation, they do all the talking. There was one situation where the other person proceeded to scold me and I said very little. After that individual was done, they said, it was good we talked things out, when I hardly said anything. I said very little, because I knew everything I would have said, would have escalated the scolding.

[steve-in-kville]

Some years ago I was put in charge of a Saturday afternoon youth activity for our church. There was one family that were "regular attenders" who came from a group that didn't believe in youth activities (EPMC?). Anyway, I told the father about the planned activities and instead of saying "no thanks", he spent the next ten minutes quoting scripture on how it was wrong to do such things and I was out of the Lord's will and such like.

That family didn't last long there.

[temporal1]

In my view, this is a superb example of sharing Truth (under duress) .. pointing to God in hard circumstances ..
(referencing what was quoted here, i’m not knowledgeable or an insider about Thao or any of this awful mess.)

.. At his sentencing of the federal trial, Thao launched into a twenty-two minute speech where he talked about the Bible,
but did not apologize to Floyd’s family.

https://premierchristian.news/en/news/a ... sentencing

Tou Thao, a former Minneapolis police officer found guilty of violating the civil rights of George Floyd,
quoted the Bible during his sentencing.

In a 22-minute speech, the disgraced officer said he had been "born again" after turning to Christianity after being arrested.

"When I walked into that jail cell, I grabbed a Bible, and I searched for it, I searched for an answer to all this wickedness,
and I couldn't find it," he said.

He urged Floyd's family, and the prosecutors, to "turn to God".
"Don't forget about God. Turn to him," he said.
"As a father of three kids, I can sit here and appeal for mercy. But I appeal to my friends to turn to God."

He has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

He didn't, however, apologise to the Floyd family. Instead, he apologised to a court reporter tasked with transcribing his speech.

If Thao is being held up as an example of Christian virtue and bravery, I have to say his refusal or failure to apologize to Floyd’s family or show remorse for his actions is a terrible Christian witness.

as a Christian, i’m not sure it’s possible to choose anything better than to surrender to God, and urge others to do the same.
in my view, surrendering to God is the ultimate remorse. urging others to do the same, the ultimate gift.

credible advice is sharing Truth, sharing personal experiences, “i’m doing this, seeking God, i urge you to do the same!”
sooner or later in life, everyone will “hit a wall.” God knows adversity draws us closer to Him.

(i understand, manipulative false witnesses happen!) i don’t sense that in this case, from the little known.
biased secular media will scoff+criticize.

Jesus was given a crown of thorns, meant to make a fool out of him. He didn’t resist.

[ken_sylvania]

Is Galations 2:11-21 an example of unsolicited advice? Was Paul out of line?

[steve-in-kville]

Is Galations 2:11-21 an example of unsolicited advice? Was Paul out of line?

In some circles, Paul was being too "forward".

[Gene]

something strange about questions regarding one's feelings on unsolicited advice on an online forum. Ain't that why the internet exists?
After all, the inventor thereof, Al Gore, belongs to a profession, politician, whose sole reason for being is to give the great unwashed unsolicited advice, instructions, and demands.

[steve-in-kville]

How I would react to giving or getting advice will largely depend on the relationship I have with the other person. A child/parent engagement will go differently than two adults.