Lean Not on Thine Own Understanding

Proverbs 3:5 (King James Version)
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Proverbs 18:2 (NIV)
A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.

1 Corinthians 12:1-27
Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

In the ancient Church, the different churches came together (the 7 ecumenical councils)...Why do you suppose they CAME TOGETHER?

There were things they didn't agree upon. There were things that they discussed and argued about...similar to the way the various faiths argue on a religion forum I post on and the various sects of Christianity argue amongst themselves in that forum. There are times when I am in this forum and I think to myself that this must be much like what those councils were like.

Does any ONE of us have ALL of the gifts of the Holy Spirit? I sincerely doubt it. Thus, no single one of us can possibly know the ENTIRE truth of God alone. We need one another to keep our sins in check because often we will allow our personal fleshy challenges to get in our way without our even knowing it.

I am a fool without God to guide me, but sometimes he uses the people around me to guide me...he doesn't always use MY understanding to guide me.

God bless you.