Advisers
November 23, 2020 by Rosemary Flaaten
Filed under Daily Devotions, Personal Growth
By Rosemary Flaaten –
Who gives you advice? For many of us, when someone gives us unsolicited advice we bristle and the relational walls go up. Generally, we don’t like to be told what to do. .
However, the book of Proverbs, which offers much advice on how to avoid being a fool and how to live wisely instead, gives us a picture of the wisdom of counsel. “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” Proverbs 15:22 (NIV).
Andy Stanley, in his video series “The Best Question Ever,” states that a wise person knows when she does not know and is not afraid to ask for advice. Being cognisant of our inabilities is a critical piece of emotional intelligence. If we ignore our weaknesses, assuming or pretending to be competent or all- knowing, we will end up sitting in the chair of the fool instead of at the podium of the wise.
Although we must surround ourselves by people we can trust, knowing they have our best interests at heart, we must be careful to not limit ourselves to only those in our inner circle. At times wise counsel may come from unlikely sources. A new hire at work may be able to see a hole in the business plan to which the old guard is blind. Your mother may not have the same level of formal education but she may have wisdom earned through the school of hard knocks. A friend of a friend of a friend may be the person who can help you through a struggle. A homeless person can teach us about generosity and kindness.
Going it alone is a dangerous pattern. Independence, by definition, is the freedom from the control, influence, support or aid of others. That may sound appealing but biblical wisdom would tell us that two is better than one and that a cord of three is not quickly broken. A wise person will be open, even seeking the advice of others and realizing that it can come from unlikely sources.
Are you going to be wise and open to advice or foolish and live as a proud independent?
PRAYER: Lord, give me discernment and humility to hear truth when it is spoken. .
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9, 12 NIV).
As a dynamic speaker and an award winning author of "A Woman and Her Relationships" and "A Woman and Her Workplace" , Rosemary Flaaten's passion is to see people deepen their relationship with God and others. She lives in Calgary, Canada.
As a submariner in the US Navy, the first thing I experienced was the culture of mentorship and gleaning wisdom from those who have already done it. From the start, I learned it was not only required, but a sign of wisdom itself, to respond to a situation where your knowledge fails you and to go hunt for someone who knows how to do the job.
The time difference in the mentorship learning curve is less than half that of one who tries to do it just from the books.
To be truly successful as a follower of Christ, I don’t even think it’s possible to do life alone. Read the Word alone. Figure it out–alone. Sooner or later you must (at the very least) submit to the wisdom of our Holy Spirit in order to grow.
Rosemary, this is such a great word!