"Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ." (Colossians 2:8)
I have often struggled in the past with what advice to accept and what advice not to accept. I've always known that it is important to follow any advice that is in line with the Bible, but what about advice that seems to be good even though such teaching is hard to find in God's Word.
I believe the simple answer to be that advice is probably fine to listen to as long as it is not opposed to God's Word. This means that if it is in line with God's Word, it's good; if it opposses God's Word, run from it.
This sounds quite simple, and to be honest it is. I know that I myself have made my relationship with God so much more complicated than He intends it to be. Countless times I have wondered to myself, "That advice/instruction seems to make sense, but I don't see that topic anywhere in the Bible. I think it's fine for me to listen to, but I want to make sure that all of my decisions are in line with what is pleasing to God. Therefore, is it really okay for me to adopt this instruction?". I believe the answer to be yes, and the reason for this is because God calls us to do, and be, our best for Him at all times and in all things. We can learn from the experience of others in order to make ourselves better. This is wise, and God calls us to be wise. After all, God gave us a brain so that we would use it. Learning from other's experiences to enhance our own is wisdom. And to add to this, the book of Proverbs teaches multiple times about the fact that it is wise to accept advice. All of this can reveal that in reality, whenever I asked myself the questions above pertaining to whether it was right or wrong to listen to advice on topics that I do not necessarily see in scripture, the answer is it is right; and the reality is that it actually is obedient to God. Just because the topic itself is not found in the Bible, teaching on listening to advice is, so when I listen to advice, I am obeying God, as long as that advice is not contradictory to anything that God says.
Unfortunately, a lot of the advice that I hear nowadays is all about human effort. It has no place for reliance on God. I find this unfortunate because God's ways are best and He is One Who wants to help us be the best we possibly can be. The biggest theme I continually witness is the one which states that we all must take control of our own destinies. People call us to pursue our dreams and to never allow anyone or anything to get in our way because with enough effort and will power, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to. I must admit, when I hear these dialogues I can get inspired. They sound good, they seem good, and at first thought it doesn't seem like there is anything wrong with them. There is however something wrong with them. As Christians, if we are buying into the idea that we can do whatever we want to, become whatever we want to, and accomplish anything we put our minds to, then we are running life's race on our own. We are not relying on God, Who's perfect strength and guidance is what we truly need to become the best person He created us to be. Proverbs 3:5,6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding, in all your ways aknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight". Proverbs 16:3 adds to this in saying, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed". It is very dangerous for Christians to buy into the mentality that they can accomplish anything they want to as long as they have enough will power. It's dangerous because it leads us out on our own, without God's guidance, without His strength. It leads us to rely on our own effort and "understanding".
I do not believe that it is wrong to have goals and dreams, nor do I think it is wrong to pursue goals and dreams. I do believe however that as a Christian, any time I pursue something, I need to make sure that I have sought God through His Word and prayer to ensure that my desires are righteous, and then as I pursue those things, I need to work hard as if the outcomes of my pursuits depend on me, but live recognizing that God is in complete control of all results. And I need to be okay with that. I may start pursuing a dream that God uses to take me down a completely different path then I anticipated. I need to be okay with this, I need to be surrendered to Him. After all, He is in complete control, He knows what's best for me, He wants what's best for me and He proved this when He sent Jesus to die for my sins so that I could have the opportunity to live with Him in Heaven someday. Why wouldn't I trust Him?
I also do not think it is wrong to be motivated to achieve great things, but this is another topic, and one which I address in another post pertaining to motivation.
It may seem like I've gone off on a tangent here, but these topics do relate, and here's how: As a Christian is it okay to accept advice from others even if those topics are not found anywhere in the Bible? Yes, as long as it does not contradict anything that the Bible teaches. And we need to be careful because there is a lot of teaching out there which seems good and righteous when in reality, it does contradict some of what the Bible teaches, and the one of the biggest teachings in this regard are the ones which try to inspire us to accomplish our goals and dreams by simply putting forth our own effort and will, and in doing, neglecting the guidance and strength that our Heavenly Father freely provides.
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