WISDOM FOR PROGRESS IN LIFE (2)

“LISTEN to counsel and RECEIVE instruction, that you may be WISE in your latter days” – Proverbs 19:20

Seeking, listening, and submitting to godly counsel are vital to enjoying the Light of WISDOM for PROGRESS in LIFE: “LISTEN to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be WISE in your latter days. There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel will stand” (Pro.19: 20-21). The New Living Translation says, “Listen to ADVICE and accept DISCIPLINE, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” It’s one thing to accept godly advice from someone; it’s another to accept discipline. Whether it comes from God in the form of chastisement or from a parent or a friend, discipline is always hard to accept, but critical to life: “Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge” (v.27).

It’s wise to learn and get advice from wise counsellors because we never know when we may run into a situation that we’ve never experienced before. Getting insight from others on how to handle situations, is invaluable, especially if the decision we have to make will affect many other people than just ourselves. There must be people we respect and trust enough to listen to, draw from their wisdom, and learn from their success or failure, the right direction to go and how to keep going. It makes no sense to fumble through life, making the same mistakes others have made and suffer the same consequences they had. All we have to do is ask someone who went through similar paths so we can learn to avoid their pitfalls: “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Pro.11:14).

However, it is important that our counsellors and advisors be disciplined Believers in Christ, students of Scripture, who seek God actively in their life. Discipline refers to any statement or action designed to correct an unwise behaviour. Discipline can come from different places: Parents at home, teachers in school, bosses at work, pastors or ministry leaders in church, or friends. We should be positively disposed to discipline and constructive correction, but be wary of and ignore negative criticism or undue sycophancy. By submitting to wise counsellors who are familiar with biblical truth, we can walk in Divine Wisdom and know how to handle the rough situations that life throws at us.

Ultimately, no matter how much good advice we receive, God’s counsel remains the same and the best: “Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel will stand” (v.21). No matter how much human wisdom we accumulate, God’s Wisdom is still higher. We can plan so meticulously until our whole lives are just one big step-by-step process, but God is the Grand Master Planner, and if our plans do not fit with His, they must change. We must commit to follow God’s plan more than ours!