There are a whole lot of folks out there, calling themselves ordained to preach God's words. Many takes a sentence or phrase from the scripture and propagate an entire theology around same.
In so doing, the claim, to know God and speak for him. They attest to his unchangeble character and thus, condemn many who otherwise would have come humbly to Christ.
I have taken the position that we are each akin to one of the six blind men positioned around an Elephant (God) and asked to define what an Elephant is. In that Indian story, each man defined the elephant based on his experience from touching that little part of the Elephant he was exposed to. So is our understanding of God as well. We only know that little part that has been revealed to us and as such should be very careful in then objectively defining god based on this.
So the big question is, when do we apply wisdom and when do we shift gear to faith. I will attempt an answer, one that is not scriptural but entirely what I am guarded by. I would apply wisdom in any area of life where human efforts can change outcomes and apply faith where it can't. Basically I am saying I will resort to self-help where it works and shift to faith where it won't. Now I speak for myself and not for faith leaders.
Birthdays come annually. Apart from being time to celebrate, they are also times to do a deep reflection about what is, what could have been and what may be.