5:144 – Gullible and naïve

#faithbites #faithjourney naïve

Intro

As many know, I am loving, open, and try to help everyone. Sometimes, my naivete gets me into trouble. Either I get shafted out of money, thanks Facebook scam, or people use my kindness to their advantage and my detriment. I’m not talking about helping those in need, it’s when it becomes a scam that it’s a problem. I wonder if being more reserved and less eager to help us is the way to go.

Questions

• Do you consider yourself naïve? If so is it a good or bad thing?
• How can we remember open up but reduce some of the consequences of being naïve?

Scripture

• Proverbs 14:15 – The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.
• 2 Timothy 4:3-4 – For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
• Hebrews 13:9 –  Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.

Reflection

Being naive in some situations isn’t so bad. It helps you be open to helping others even if you get hurt a bit. But you can grow. The problem is when being gullible takes you away from God and his teachings. When our need for appeasing or to be appeased and fulfilled takes us to “strange teachings.” We need to be prudent in the choices we make, the real choices that affect who we are. Our principles shouldn’t be compromised while we help others. Our principles also need to be firmly grounded in God’s word. It is sometimes tricky to figure out if you are being prudent or naive, following God or following your own passions. It’s times like these when we have to pray and just turn it over to God.

As we close, remember, it’s not about not helping and learning from others, that’s the problem. We have to stick the balance between being naive and closed-minded. In the end, God helps us figure it out if we let him.

Prayer

Father God, please help those that are hurting. So many of us have been scammed or hurt because we opened our hearts to others. We pray that you help us to grow, love, learn and make the choices that allow us to help and not be hurt. We turn it over to you. Amen.