#39. Giving expert advice on things we’ve never experienced.

My all time favorite example of this phenomenon came in the form of a book I once read. OK, it was a book I once skimmed. The book was about purity and lust and being faithful with your heart and your eyes. The minister that wrote it had clearly never severely struggled with any of those topics but that didn’t stop him from writing and publishing a book. How do I know? Here was one of his suggestions for why shouldn’t look at porn:

“The porn industry supports organized crime.”

There is not a man on the planet, that in the throes of lust, facing an endless supply of internet filth, in the midst of being intoxicated by dopamine and emotions, pauses and thinks to himself, “I can’t look at porn. I hate the mafia. I should just stop right now because I certainly don’t want to support any form of organized crime. No thank you.”

I think we’re afraid that our lack of knowledge reflects poorly on God. You know what’s worse? When we’re dishonest or steer someone in the wrong direction just because we don’t want to say, “I don’t know.” Let’s commit to giving real advice on the subjects we have personal experience with. Granted you don’t have to have been to jail for tax evasion to counsel a friend that they should pay their taxes. But you know what I mean.