Good To Know: Good Advice For A Better LifeSample

If you were given a Starbucks gift-card, do you know who you would invite to join you for coffee?

I love coffee, and I get energized when I’m with people. I cherish hanging out with old friends, and I enjoy making new ones.

Not everyone’s wired that way, though. Even if you need to be alone to recharge at the end of the day, I’m sure you have at least a few people you hold close and enjoy spending time with on a regular basis. I believe God designed us that way. He doesn’t want us to do life alone; we are made for community.

Proverbs reminds us that we need to be smart about who is in our community . . . specifically our innermost circle. Those people should hold the same values and standards we hold. They should feel free to speak into our lives, regardless of how painful it might be for us to hear or for them to say. 

But here’s one catch: we need to let those people in. They need to have the permission to speak into our lives and ask hard questions.

Don’t wait until you’re alone and drifting or in crisis to define who your people are. It could be too late. Take time today to think about it. Are they people who will say what you want to hear or what you need to hear?

Kim Cordrey

Questions for Reflection:

• Who do you have in your inner circle? Have you been transparent with them? Do they feel comfortable speaking into your life?

• Is there anyone in your inner circle that could cause you to go in the wrong direction? If so, what changes do you need to make?