The Need for Advice

Scripture:

Prov. 13:10     By insolence the heedless make strife,
        but wisdom is with those who take advice. (NRSV)
10 Where there is strife, there is pride,
    but wisdom is found in those who take advice. (NIV)

Observation:

How often are problems created when there is pride involved, a pride that does not allow one to get advice from those around them.  The result is moving forward without heeding the warnings or direction of others and strife is found along the way. 

Those who are wise are willing to get advice.  They are willing to say, “I don’t know,” and then ask others for direction and ultimately they discover they are wise, not because of their own personal knowledge, but because they have gleaned from those around them.

Application:

I remember as a child that I hated asking my parents for help.  I wanted to prove to them that I could do it on my own! 

I also remember our little girls wanting to build a “house” of their own out in the back yard of our youth center in Russia.  They were taking scraps of wood from a building project and doing their own thing.  They didn’t want any direction or advice for this was their house.  Unfortunately they didn’t understand the concept of a strong foundation.  The sun-baked ground seemed like a good place to build and they literally nailed the building into the dirt.  This was okay until the evening downpour came and the little house fell to its side, flat as a pancake.

I think the girls learned a lesson that day.  It really does help to get some advice.  Today when my girls want to do something around the house they will watch a You Tube video to get instruction first before trying it on their own.  The result is that they are now much more successful at things like home repairs!  They are willing to take advice and learn how to do things properly.

In the practical sense this should be played out in our lives.  We should be willing to humble ourselves and take advice, learning from those who know more than we do.  At the same time this is even more true in our spiritual lives.  When we refuse to ask for direction or training we find ourselves in a place of pride.  This pride results in strife, or in this case, a poor reflection of Jesus Christ.  We must be willing to humble ourselves before the Father so that he can teach us, give us advice and correction, and only in doing so can his wisdom become manifest in us.

We all need advice.  Let’s slow down and be willing to learn so that we can be better witnesses to the work of Christ in our lives.

Prayer:

Lord, may I seek you, your advice, and your wisdom.  Amen.