Hey everyone, I'm Dr. Allison. Today's scripture offers us a wiser way of being human as we step into the day.

Before we begin, I want to give a shout out to one of you who's been listening. I've been getting emails lately asking me to reflect on specific scriptures and this verse was one of those requests

thank you for asking me to speak into this powerful and important verse today's scripture is for the

days when you feel exposed when you're trying to live with integrity in a world that can feel sharp

hostile cynical or even unsafe if you're heading to live with integrity in a world that can feel sharp, hostile, cynical, or even

unsafe. If you're heading into a difficult conversation, a tense environment, or a season that requires

courage, this passage offers a grounded, grown-up kind of wisdom. Today's scripture is Matthew 10,

16. I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be shrewd as snakes

and as innocent as doves. This is one of those verses that I repeat constantly. It can feel so

surprisingly honest. It's the opposite of naive. Jesus says, I am sending you out like sheep

among wolves. This isn't a motivational feel-good quote. This is an honest description of what it can

feel like to live as a person who is tender in a world that can feel brutal at times.

And if you've ever been hurt by someone's cruelty, manipulation, or emotional volatility,

this verse can hit deep. Because part of you hears it and thinks, exactly, I am outmatched,

I'm a sheep among wolves. But Jesus doesn't stop there. He continues, therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

That line is so powerful, because the goal is not to become a wolf.

It's not to join the wolves.

The goal is not to harden your heart, shut down your empathy, or live in cynical suspicion.

The goal is to remain innocent, pure in your love,

while also becoming wise. This is where many of us get stuck, especially those of us who learned

early that being good and pleasing meant being agreeable, that being loving meant staying quiet,

that being faithful meant absorbing harm without protest.

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