The Blessing of: “I Told You So!”

One Word

One Word for 2014: Blessing

Isn’t it annoying sometimes when someone told you something and you decide not to listen and eventually you have to face the sting from the words, “See, I told you so!” or my mother’s favourite, “Didn’t I Tell You…!”

I used to become angry with myself when I didn’t listen to someone and whatever they warned me about was proven to be true. As I would mull over my error, it often lead to me becoming upset with the person who gave me the warning. Over the years I’ve learned to see people who give me words of warning and caution as a blessing instead of seeing their words as hurtful.

Please Note: I don’t recommend literally saying, “I told you so!” to anyone because it will likely lead to that person feeling worse and becoming bitter. However, if someone says that you, don’t become fixated on the words of defeat as it will take you away from learning a lesson and instead it will lead to you being upset with yourself without having learned from your mistake.

Proverbs 27:5-6 “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”

We’ve all been in a situation where we’ve kicked our self for not listening to sound advice and warnings. We feel even worse when we don’t listen to our own advice or follow our intuition. It’s easy to beat up on our self for not listening, but instead of doing that, what if we stopped, evaluated why we didn’t listen and then gave thanks to God for the people in our lives who are not afraid to “tell us so!”.

Friends who give us sound advice and warnings are good friends. It means they care enough to look out for your well-being. I’m not talking about bossy people or busy-bodies who have their noses in everybody’s business. I’m referring to those who “tell you so!” because they care. They might not even be friend or family; sometimes these people are strangers who care enough to let you know whatever it is that you need to be told.

An honest friend is a great friend to have.

So… what have I been told in the past few months that I didn’t listen to? Here’s my list:

-“It’s gross, don’t buy it”

-“You’re sick, don’t go to work, stay home and rest”

-“Ignore her”

-“You’re going to forget if you don’t write that down”

-“If you don’t say something about it, she’s going to keep doing that to you”

Thankfully my list doesn’t include anything life altering, but for other’s you may not be so fortunate.

QUESTION (Self-Reflection):

• What are the major “I Told You So” in your life? Is there something that people are often telling you, but you don’t seem to listen to?

• How do you feel when people have proven you wrong? How do you react towards them?

ACTION:

• Ask God to reveal to you any areas in your life where you have a difficult time listening and following sound advice and warnings.

• If you have trouble with being proven wrong, ask God to soften your heart towards people who are showing you that they care. Ask God to help you discern between those who are simply being bossy or prideful verses those who are demonstrating care.