I mention in a marriage conference one time, some secular study on human behavior. In a round about way, I was then very politely rebuked for sharing such information and told our views should only come from the Bible. I totally agree, our foundation for learning of life should originate from the Bible, but that’s not going to stop me from learning from other sources.

I heard this quote once and I’ve made it a good practice in my life, “Eat the meat, spit out the bones“. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of examples we encounter during our lifetime, which teach us valuable lessons. However when it comes to learning from other individuals, we need to, eat the meat, and spit out the bones. Take for example, the times when we see or hear of some church leader who fell into sin. Most people will then dismiss anything and everything the person has said or even written. I have several books which have greatly inspired me, but the authors have made wrong choices in their personal life. Should I just throw away the books because of it? Of course not!Learning Look at all the examples in the Bible of individuals, like King David. He slept with another man’s wife and then killed the guy! Yet we continue to read his prayers which teach and inspire us. How about Samson. He made many bad choices, yet he lead and taught Israel for many years.

Back in my hometown of Hagerstown, MD. Lisa and I were a part of a young and growing church. I can’t begin to express the many, many valuable lessons we learned which helped shaped our thinking and character. Many years later, after we had moved away, we found out the core leaders of the church fell into sin which tore the church apart. We talk to several friends who went through these difficult times and believe me, these folks were hurting. Its hard not to take it personal when you are there in the mix of it. When talking with them you could hear the pain in their voices. Some of them moved on to other churches, others abandon church all together. So I ask, should the message of the Kingdom, which was taught there, be thrown out? Of course not.

One thing we need to continue to remind ourself, is that mankind is not perfect and God will continue to use imperfect people to teach us, be it in or outside the church. Our part is to pick out the good stuff (the meat) and throw out the false information or ideals (the bones).