It is a challenge trying to be a surrogate dad! I have 8 grandchildren. I love all of them but two of the younger boys experienced the death of their father about 4 years so they need more out of me as a father figure than the rest. One, Izac, is 10 and the other (Elijah – ‘Lij’) is 4 years old. Lij is full of energy. While he has a very good heart, he sometimes has a hard time remembering to be ‘good’. Izac has been in the stage where he talks like a sophomore in High School or college when you try to tell him something. Actually, adults are still thinking that way even if they don’t say it. He has down those already famous words, “I know” no matter what the issue may be! I forget that I still think and say those words. And then I get a bit frustrated when I’m trying to teach him something and he says those notorious words! I wonder if I subconsciously do that same thing to God??
Proverbs 11:14 (NKJV) Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety. Hum! God is saying to us there is safety in seeking to get sufficient counsel. What might that be saying to us about the kind of God we serve? One thing it says to me is He has chosen the counsel of others to keep us safe. I assume that means safe in business deals, maintaining our health, learning skills in life and, yes, safe from all the heresies and skewed teaching floating around these day.
But why did He design us to NEED counsel from others? After all, when we already ‘know it’, we are just wasting our time studying and asking others. Or, did He design us to be incomplete in ourselves and need others for a strategic reason–to make us complete when we collaborate with others. Each person has a different perspective and truth frequently lies between the two extreme views. It is like each of us are a part of a big puzzle. We need as many pieces we can get in order to get a better grasp of the true picture.
I guess you can say, the very willingness to seek and accept advice demonstrates wisdom. While it is true, too much advice or over-analysis can hinder the planning process, more advice is usually better than less. This is a reminder that humility is a sign of wisdom. And, that it is wise to seek advice from as broad of base as is practical, including those who see things differently than me or even those I falsely judge as being “inferior” to me.
Why has it taken me so long to even get to kindergarten in this ‘needing others’ thing! I find I’m still more like my 10-year-old grandson than my age shows. Sadly, I am still silently thinking it, if not saying it in some veneered fashion, “I know”—when I don’t know it all!!! Gratefully, the Holy Spirit has finally cracked my nut enough so now I have come to the place I am seeking to see through other people’s eyes—more often than in the past.
I hope you are farther down this path of needing the counsel of others than I am.
Agreed , truth is sometimes the counsel of others is in listening.Seems simple , but my biggest need is to hear when God speaks , through any source at any time.