I read a lot of books. I'm talking stacks of them. Books from the left, books from the right, books from people I agree with and people I don't. I love learning. I love being challenged. But there's a verse in 1 Kings that stops me cold every time I read it, and it should probably stop you too.

1 Kings 13:18 "He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him."

That last line? "But he lied unto him."

It's chilling. And it's way more relevant to your life right now than you might think.

The Story: When a Man of God Gets Off Track

Let me tell you what happened in 1 Kings 13. It's one of the most shocking stories in the Bible.

God sends a young prophet to Bethel with very specific instructions. He's supposed to preach against the altar, deliver God's message, and then leave. God tells him directly: "Do not eat bread, drink water, or return the way you came."

Clear instructions. Direct from God. No confusion.

The young prophet obeys. He preaches boldly. The king tries to bribe him with a meal and a reward. The prophet refuses. He's locked in. He's determined. He's full of zeal and obedience.

But on his way home, an old prophet catches up with him.

This old prophet has been around. He's got experience. He's got success. He's got credibility. And he says to the young man, "Hey, I'm a prophet just like you. An angel spoke to me and told me to bring you back to my house for a meal."

The young prophet believes him. He goes back. He eats. He drinks.

And by the end of the story, he's dead. A lion kills him on the road.

All because he listened to the wrong voice.

The Point: We Let Our Guard Down Too Much

Here's the thing: this isn't just an ancient cautionary tale. This is happening right now in churches, ministries, and Christian circles all over the world.

We think, "Well, he's a man of God like I am. He's successful. He's been doing this longer than me. He must know something I don't."

So we read his books. We listen to his podcasts. We adopt his methods. We quote his phrases. And we use way too little discernment.

We spend 15 minutes in the Bible and 3 hours listening to someone talk about it. And we wonder why we're confused.

Let me be blunt: we've become pragmatists. We determine truth by what works rather than by what the Word of God actually says. We chase the results instead of the Scripture. We follow the man with the biggest platform instead of the God with the clearest voice.

And here's the kicker: I've been guilty of this myself.

My Own Confession: I've Been a Man Follower

I can speak plainly about this because I've lived it. I've been a man follower. I've been burnt by it.

There were seasons in my ministry where I looked at someone else's success and thought, "If I just do what he does, maybe God will bless me like that." I read their books. I copied their strategies. I even started to sound like them.

And you know what happened? I got off track. Not because those men were necessarily bad or wrong, but because I was following them rather than God's clear direction for my life and ministry.

The young prophet in 1 Kings 13 didn't die because the old prophet was evil. He died because he obeyed a man instead of God.

That's the lesson. And it's a hard one.

The Challenge: Get Back in the Book

So here's my challenge to you, and I know you might be mad at me for saying this:

Stop spending more time reading books about the Bible than you spend reading the Bible itself.

Stop following podcasters more closely than you follow Jesus.

Stop building your theology on what's trending and start building it on what's true.

1 John 4:1 says: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

You need discernment. Real discernment. The kind that only comes from being in the Word of God regularly, prayerfully, and humbly.

Does that mean you shouldn't read books or listen to sermons? Of course not. I'm still going to read. But I'm going to read with my Bible open. I'm going to check everything against Scripture. And if something doesn't line up, I'm going to reject it, no matter how successful or experienced the person saying it is.

The Trap of Pragmatism

Here's where a lot of us get tripped up. We think, "But it's working for him. His church is growing. His ministry is thriving. He must be doing something right."

Maybe. But "it works" doesn't mean "it's biblical."

The young prophet saw the old prophet's house. He saw his credibility. He probably thought, "This guy has been around. He knows what he's doing."

But success doesn't equal truth. And experience doesn't equal obedience.

Proverbs 14:12 warns us: "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

Pragmatism is a trap. It always has been. It always will be. And if you're not careful, you'll end up following a method, a man, or a movement straight into spiritual death.

Stay in the Word

I'm going to say this as clearly as I can: the Bible is your primary source.

Not a podcast. Not a book. Not a conference speaker. Not even me.

If you're spending more time consuming Christian content than you are consuming the actual Word of God, you're setting yourself up for deception.

Psalm 119:105 says: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

Not someone else's interpretation of the Word. Not their spin on it. Not their version of it. The Word itself.

Get in the book. Study it. Memorize it. Meditate on it. Let it shape your thinking, your theology, your ministry, and your life.

And when someone, no matter how credible, tells you something that doesn't line up with Scripture, have the courage to say, "No, I'm going to stick with what God said."

Develop Discernment

Discernment isn't something you're born with. It's something you develop. And you develop it by spending time in the Word, praying, and testing everything you hear against Scripture.

Acts 17:11 talks about the Bereans: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

Even when the Apostle Paul preached to them, they went home and checked the Scriptures to make sure what he said was true.

If Paul wasn't above being fact-checked, neither is anyone else.

Don't accept something just because a "successful" ministry leader said it. Don't adopt a practice just because it's working for someone else. Don't follow a trend just because it's popular.

Be a Berean. Search the Scriptures. Develop discernment.

The Bottom Line

Be careful who you listen to.

Not everyone who claims to speak for God actually does. Not everyone who says, "I'm a prophet like you" is telling the truth. And not everyone who looks successful is walking in obedience.

You have one primary source: the Word of God. Everything else- including what I write- needs to be tested against it.

Stay in the Bible more than you're in the books. Pray more than you listen to podcasts. And when God gives you clear direction, don't let anyone- no matter how credible- talk you out of it.

The young prophet paid for his disobedience with his life. Don't make the same mistake.

Now I know you might be mad at me. But don't trust me: check it out in the Bible.

If you're wrestling with the tension between following God's voice and the noise of everyone else, I dive deeper into it in my article, "The Big Leap of Faith: Believing God Loves You Exactly as You Are." It's about learning to hear God's voice above all the other voices clamoring for your attention.

And if you want more honest, grace-centered conversations like this one, check out the Followed by Mercy podcast where we talk about the hard stuff with a lot of grace and zero pressure.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I'm following a man instead of God?

If you find yourself defending someone's teaching more than you're defending Scripture, that's a red flag. If you're more excited about their content than you are about God's Word, that's another one. Check your loyalties. Make sure your first allegiance is to the Bible, not to a personality.

Is it wrong to read Christian books or listen to sermons?

Not at all. I read all the time. But the key is to read with discernment. Always compare what you're hearing to what the Bible says. If it lines up, great. If it doesn't, reject it: no matter who said it.

What does it practically look like to "develop discernment"?

Start by spending more time in the Bible than you do consuming Christian content. Pray before you read or listen to anything. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom. And when something doesn't sit right with you, don't ignore that feeling: dig into Scripture and see if it holds up.

W. Austin Gardner has spent 50+ years in ministry, including 20 years as a missionary in Peru. After surviving Stage 4 cancer and COVID, he's more convinced than ever that following Jesus means following His Word, not just following the crowd)