Be Careful Little Ears What You Hear

Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

I don’t know about you, but I know it to be a fact about me…I am very good at convincing myself, of rationalizing a situation, enough to think I’ve got a really good plan. I’ve got it all figured out…at least for the moment. THIS, Friends, is why I seek godly counsel from people that love me enough to tell me when I’m messing up in my thinking. Funny, isn’t it, that we can see so clearly what others should or shouldn’t do but when it comes to our own life, we slip on those ‘self-colored glasses’ and our vision takes a dive. There is a saying, “A lawyer who defends himself has a fool for a client.” This holds true for the Christian that goes it alone without wise counsel from other mature Believers. Self-counsel is thwarted from the start because it is based on human emotion and biased logic. This is experience talking here!

Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

Self-counsel leads to self-directed actions and leaves God out of the picture. An excerpt from the devotional Jesus Calling sums it up well.

When your thoughts flow freely, they tend to move toward problems. Your focus gets snagged on a given problem, circling round and round it in attempts to gain mastery. Your energy is drained away from other matters through the negative focus. Worst of all, you lose sight of Me.

Christian writer Ron Moore says: Have you ever been…tricked? Hurt? Deceived? Have you ever had someone steal something from you? How have you…how are you…handling the action of the person who has wronged you?

Self-counsel is dangerous. Our focus is narrow, one-sided, and subjective. Self-counsel will always guide us toward our feelings and desires. The pain we feel will advise us to inflict pain in return. Seeking the counsel of God, His Word, and godly people will give us the perspective of the right path. Self-counsel will keep us on a dead-end trail of regret.

I like that last line… Self-counsel will keep us on a dead-end trail of regret. I’ve hiked that trail, it’s a rocky path. I first learned I needed godly counsel; now I want and seek godly counsel. Here’s the key though…you have to seek out those that will be straight and honest with you, not just those that will tell you want you want to hear. Surrounding yourself with people willing to reinforce your own thinking or accepting only a concept that agrees with what you want in the first place over that which says you are not on track is worse than no counsel at all.

Proverbs 13:10 By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom.

People that truly love you and have your best interest at heart will never encourage you to do something that is not good for you or sit back quietly and watch you drown in your own misguided thinking.