Or, more personally, am I a holy busy body?
I have been in the past, helpfully making suggestions about others’ spiritual life.
I undoubtedly will do it again (and if happens to be you, I apologize in advance).
But, I try very hard NOT to tell people what I think God is saying to them.
After all, I can scarcely figure out what God is saying to me.
How could I possibly know what He’s saying to you?
Oswald Chambers helped me understand this.
He warns us not to be an “amateur providence,” in someone else’s life.
In the August 1 My Utmost for His Highest, he asks:
“Are we playing the spiritual amateur providence in other lives? Are we so noisy in our instruction of others that God cannot get anywhere near them?
We have to keep our mouths shut and our spirits alert.”
Providence refers to playing at God. An amateur providence is a person who is NOT God pretending to be God and advising others about what God is telling them to do.
Or, Chambers warns, playing God with someone else’s life and trying to shield them from the consequences of their circumstances.
A sort of tough love.
I’m the one interpreting “amateur providence” as being a holy busy body.
Taking counsel with others?
God tells us in the Bible to counsel with HIM.
And there are other spots where we’re advised about the benefits of counsel from others:
William Stitt (Unsplash)
Counsel suggests you asked for someone’s opinion. If so, they’re a counselor, not a holy busy body.
How do I know what God is doing in your life?
That’s the rub. The only person whose heart, mind and soul I can begin to guess at is me.
I may know you very well, but I don’t know what the Holy Spirit is impressing upon your heart.
I don’t know the ins and outs of your relationship with God.
Who knows what God is working out in your life except Him?
I might be able to make observations about your life based on what you tell me, but I can’t plumb the depths of what the Holy Spirit knows down there in the marrow of your bones.
Chambers used the term “amateur providence,” more than 30 times in My Utmost for His Highest according to Jed and Cecile Macosko.
As most of the lectures came from his time at the Bible Training College, Chambers recognized the temptation many of his students might face on the mission field.
It’s a temptation many in spiritual authority–pastors, Bible study teachers, prayers–face. We have to let God work in your life the way He sees fit.
Biddy chose one of Chambers’ most in-your-face responses to the threat for the November 15 reading (which marked the day Chambers died):
One of our severest lessons comes from the stubborn refusal to see that we must not interfere in other people’s lives.
It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s order for others.
You see a certain person suffering, and you say—‘He shall not suffer, and I will see that he does not.’
You put your hand straight in front of God’s permissive will to prevent it, and God says—“What is that to thee?”
The pain of NOT being a holy busy body
Chambers spells it out simply in the March 24 reading from My Utmost for His Highest:
“You may often have to watch Jesus Christ wreck a life before He saves it (see Matthew 10:34).”
Yikes! What does that mean?
The hardest prayer for my prayer partner and I to pray is that God will allow our loved ones to hit the bottom sooner rather than later.
Because when they reach the end of their rope, that’s where they’ll find Jesus.
Until we understand the depths of our sin, we can’t recognize our need for a Savior. If we get in the way of our loved ones reaching the breaking point, we can very well thwart Jesus’ work in their life.
That’s a strong statement, but is often the result of well-meaning amateur providences trying to help. 
A reforming holy busy body
Since learning this truth years ago, I remind myself when I’m tempted to “bail someone out,” that I cannot get in God’s way.
Have I got advice for you! Photo by Huy Phan (Unsplash)
I usually turn my angst into a prayer for that loved one, freely acknowledging to God that I’ve got suggestions for how He should resolve the situation.
Because we can tell God anything in prayer, I do so.
I like to think He smiles, particularly when I finish with the real prayer: “thy will be done in this person’s life.”
I don’t want to be a holy busy body, so my concerns, these days, drive me to prayer.
The heart of the God who loves us all best, is where I want everyone to be.
Tweetables
How to tell if you’re a holy busy body or an amateur providence. Click to Tweet
Oswald Chambers’ advice on acting like a holy busy body. Click to Tweet
How to get in God’s way for another with the best of intentions. Click to Tweet
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