Sayings

NOTE: This is a written version of the message I delivered on January 28, 2025.

There are lots of sayings that sound good, but they are worth evaluating. Let's consider some of them.

Happiness matters most. Does it? What about holiness? What about joy? Does happiness save you? What about fleeting feelings? James 1:8 indicates that a "double-minded man" is "unstable in all his ways." Also, if you feel something, is that feeling permanent? No. We are to have an eternal perspective, not a wavering temporal one. Consider the verse we just read in context in James 1:4-8 (NASB):

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

And there are many other verses that support that a temporal or fully feelings-based approach to life is not a Biblical approach to life. Consider James 4:14 (NASB):

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away.

Consider Psalm 39:5 (NASB):

Behold, You have made my days like hand widths,
And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Certainly all mankind standing is a mere breath. Selah

1 Peter 1:24-25 (NASB) quotes from Isaiah:

For,

"All flesh is like grass,
And all its glory is like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
And the flower falls off,
But the word of the Lord endures forever."

And this is the word which was preached to you.

And finally consider 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NASB):

For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

So, while feelings are part of life, they are not to be in charge. We are to be sober-minded. Happiness does not matter most. This relates to the next saying, which is related:

Follow your heart. Not only should we consider the verses already mentioned, but what about the heart being deceitful? Consider Jeremiah 17:9 (NASB):

The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?

Some translations say, "wicked" instead of "sick."

Here's another saying: God helps those who help themselves. There is nothing in and of us that is good. We are utterly helpless to save ourselves. Consider Psalm 53:3 (NASB):

Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

Consider Romans 3:23 (NASB), which says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And there are many other verses making the same point.

How about this saying? God never gives you more than you can handle. Actually He does. Why? Because we are designed to depend on something other than ourselves. I've said it before: "Why do we eat?" Because we are dependent on something outside our physical bodies to sustain them physically. The same is true when applied spiritually. We need spiritual sustenance for our souls. We need God and are designed to depend on Him in Christ. What about Paul's thorn and God's grace? Consider 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (NASB):

Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

And here’s another popular saying: If it feels good, do it. I've already mentioned the problem of being ruled by feelings or the heart. Yet, there is more to say regarding the problems of this saying. What about self-centeredness versus Christlikeness, thinking of others, self-denying and self-control? After all, self-control is a Fruit of the Holy Spirt. Consider Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB):

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Sometimes you may hear the following saying: Don't work too hard! Is that good advice? What does the Bible say? Colossians 3:23-24 (NASB) says the following:

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

Hebrews 10:24 (NASB) says, “let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds.” Some translations say to spur one another on. That takes hard work. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 (NASB) the following:

Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way as not to run aimlessly; I box in such a way, as to avoid hitting air; but I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

There's self-control. Run the race God has set before you with His purpose. Work (hard) for Him with purpose. Live with purpose in Christ.

And one final saying: You only live once, also seen as YOLO. Actually, only living once is all the more reason not to do foolish things with one's life now! Consider the first point I made about the shortness of this side of eternity. While it is true you only live once this side of eternity, that's all the more reason to make every opportunity to live for Christ. There is an eternal existence. Are you trusting Christ for your eternity? Are you living for Christ now -- today? 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NASB) says, "... Today is the day of salvation."

All of the considerations for approching these sayings can be summed up in Colossians 2:8 (NASB):

See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ.

Be like the Bereans (Acts 17:10-11) and when you hear something, even if it sounds good, test it against what the Bible says. Then, you can determine from Scripture if it is a worthy saying or not.

---

Top of Page

Ichthus Library: Personal Works

Beacon Deacon Home