Sometimes our natural instincts can get us into trouble. An impulsive spirit can bring adventure to life. But it can also tempt a driver to push it once too often at a yellow light, resulting in a ticket or a collision. A cautious spirit, on the other hand, can bring us a feeling of safety. But it can produce a life that is very small and guarded. A joyous spirit can bring laughter and lightheartedness to others. But if it is not tempered, it can feel superficial, afraid to deal with grief and other harsh realities of life.

Each of us has unique components of our personalities that become assets when we listen to the wisdom of friends. The advice of others can help us avoid the problems that come when our natural tendencies (good or bad) go unchecked. This even happened for a man as mature in his walk with Christ as Paul.

In Acts 19 Paul is discipling members of the new church in Ephesus. The impact of the message about Christ transforms many lives, and is the talk of the town. Many lives are transformed as the old values of many in the culture are abandoned out of loyalty to Jesus. This positive development threatens one local industry—the silversmiths and others who made idols for the shines in the region. One leader, Demetrius, attempts to preserve his business. He calls together those in his guild. (See Acts 19:25.) Then he and his fellow craftsmen instigate a riot. They don’t articulate their primary concern, which is income. Instead, they put forward baseless charges that the traveling companions of Paul have attacked the local deities directly. The message is that these foreigners are trying to mess with our culture and we won’t stand for it.

Paul desires to speak to the crowd and inform them of the truth. He’s eager to expose the propaganda and falsehoods that fuel the false rumors swirling around in the crowd. Two things prevented Paul from acting on his desires. In Acts 19:30-31 Luke records, “but the disciples would not let him.” They uniformly resisted his inclination to insert himself in the mob and change minds. Luke adds that some of his friends who were officials send a message “begging him not to venture into the theater.” God used the love and compassion of a host of people to dissuade Paul from doing what he instinctively would do in such situations. He could have sent an angel with a message, but in this case he spoke through two groups of mature, caring people.

The Christ-follower who always dismisses the counsel of others is in a dangerous place. He or she forgets that God sometimes shows us wisdom through the words of mature, loving, and courageous friends. Pride can easily masquerade and spiritual insight, so we must be prudent like Paul and be willing to listen in those times when our natural tendencies need to be tempered with an outside perspective.