MAY 16, 2014
Many
Advisors
Read: Proverbs
15:16-23
Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they
are established. —Proverbs
15:22
The fifteenth-century
theologian Thomas à Kempis said, “Who is so wise as to have perfect knowledge
of all things? Therefore, trust not too much to your own opinion, but be ready
also to hear the opinions of others. Though your own opinion be good, yet if
for the love of God you forego it and follow that of another, you shall the
more profit thereby.” Thomas recognized the importance of seeking the opinions
of trusted advisors when making plans for life.
In order to determine
God’s course for life, the wise person should open up to several avenues of
counsel, through which God will bring His guiding wisdom. When a person seeks
the wise counsel of others, he shows his realization that he might be
overlooking some important factors in his decisions.
Solomon, the wisest
man in Israel, wrote about how important it is to have counsel from others:
“Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are
established” (Prov. 15:22).
The Lord is the
Wonderful Counselor (Isa. 9:6), and He desires to protect us through wise
advisors. Seek them out and thank God for them. Let them help you discover a
clearer picture of His plan for your life.
If you seek wise counsel, you multiply your
chances for sound decisions.
Insight
Proverbs 15:22 instructs us on the importance
of seeking wise counsel. Many of the people in scripture sought out counsel
from wise and trusted advisors. Moses asked advice from his father-in-law
Jethro about how to lead and judge Israel (Ex. 18:13-24). Ahithophel was so
wise that it was said that his advice “was as if one had inquired at the oracle
of God” (2 Sam. 16:23). But the greatest counsel we can seek is from God
Himself. James tells us that if we lack wisdom, we can ask of God and He will
give it to us because He “gives to all liberally and without reproach” (James
1:5).
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
