By David ReayThursday 18 Oct 2018LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
Read Proverbs 15:22
22 Without counsel, plans go wrong,
but with many advisers they succeed. (NRSV)
None of us was meant to live life all alone. We not only need the sustaining, gracious help of God, we also need other people. Life is a team sport not a solo activity. Which brings us to this proverb, a general statement of truth that may have exceptions but contains wisdom.
Wrong decisions can be made when we go it alone, when we rush bull-headed into a course of action without taking advice from others. We make up our minds and no-one is going to change them. It can become a source of pride: we are the ones to control our destiny and no one else is going to play a part.
This ignores the fact that we can be mistaken. We are not always the best judges of what is good for us. We cannot, by definition, be objective. The Bible says that those who belong to Jesus can only grow inasmuch as they are in relationship with other Christians. Those who simply do what they reckon God is telling them to do without seeking some counsel are often sadly deluded. We need the wisdom of each other.
Of course we have to make up our own minds in the end. Of course we don’t use this idea of seeking counsel as a means of putting off a decision. And there can be such a thing as getting too much advice from too many sources. But the principle remains: get wisdom from wise advisors—and these will not just be those who normally agree with you but those who challenge you.
The message is: get advice. And that is really good advice!
Blessings
David Reay