“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” – Proverbs 12:15
How well do you receive other people’s advice?
Taking other people’s advice can be difficult. We like to think we can handle things, that we have most things figured out and, what we don’t know, we can figure out as we go. Taking other people’s advice means admitting that we don’t have it all figured out.
The Toilet
A while back, I installed a toilet at my house. I could have just opened up the box and started at it, but I decided to stop for a moment, go online, and find a video showing me how to replace a toilet. How awesome is it that these days we can find videos on just about anything we need to know?!
Could I have figured it out myself?
Maybe. However, when I thought about the pain it would be if I got it wrong, I knew I’d better get some advice.
Sorry to break it to you. You don’t know everything.
The truth is there are a lot of areas of our lives where we could use advice. Maybe it’s marriage or parenting or finances or our walk with God…or all of the above. Seeking wise counsel isn’t something to be ashamed of. In fact, quite the opposite. It can be the wisest thing we can do.
Seeking Wise Counsel is Wise
Our passage, today, is from the book of Proverbs, an entire book of the Bible devoted to advice and wisdom. The Bible is filled with wise counsel from the wisest one of all, God.
In one sense, the Bible certainly isn’t just about advice and wisdom. If all we look at the Bible for our principles for living, we’re missing the primary message. However, Proverbs also tells us,
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” – Proverbs 9:10
The Bible is the source of life and salvation, the very Word of God. In fact, believing in Jesus and His death and resurrection for our salvation is the start of all wisdom. All the “how to live life” wisdom comes after that. The question is whether we are willing to listen even when God’s wisdom is different from our own.
Being Willing To Listen
We must humble ourselves and accept three things:
Sometimes it isn’t pride that keeps us from listening to advice. Sometimes it’s that we don’t really want to do what is necessary to fix the issue. We’d rather complain and have someone listen to our complaints than deal with the issue. However, whether it’s pride or not wanting to deal with the issue, not listening to good advice makes us pretty foolish…
Just like the woman in this video:
Heavenly Father,
Give me the wisdom to be humble and seek wisdom. Help me to heed Your wisdom and be willing to listen to wise counsel from others.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
PS – Right now, Faith’s Friday Night Growth Group Bible study is on Proverbs. It’s on Zoom. Contact Us, today, if you’d like to be a part of the Bible study, tonight (or any future night).
