The book of Proverbs (the Old Testament book of wisdom) offers us the following three strategies when it comes to making wise decisions:
1. Fear God. Proverbs 9:10 and Proverbs 15:33 make it clear that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. To fear God means to respect and honor him ... acknowledging the place he has as sovereign ruler over us and our world. This makes a lot of sense. If our relationship with God is out of whack, then how will we ever be able to make consistently "wise" decisions? It just won't happen. After all, it is HIS world in which we live and work and play ... AND make decisions!
2. Consult the Book. Proverbs 2:6 tells us that wisdom comes to us via God's mouth. Since the Scripture is from God's mouth (it is "God-breathed" - see 2 Timothy 3:16-17), it follows that there is much wisdom to be found in the pages of the Bible. Again, nothing surprising about this. After all, there is no wiser being than the God who knows anything and everything there is to know! So to consult the book that he authored is guaranteed to give us the wisdom that we need.
3. Get advice. Proverbs 11:14; 12:15; 15:22 all state the value of seeking advice from others. But the key here is to get your advice from the RIGHT kind of people (I have heard advice given by so called Christians that's been absurd and downright contrary to God's will ... quite scary!). SO ... what kind of person should you seek out for advice? How about a WISE person? OK. So what does a wise person look like? For starters, seek out someone who fears God (Proverbs 15:16). If you want godly advice, go to a godly person! Secondly, look for an individual who is humble (Proverbs 11:2) and teachable (13:10). Don't go to Mr. Know It All. Don't seek out Mrs. Been There Done That. Rather, seek out a person whom you know has a humble attitude about himself. Thirdly, get advice from a person who has control of his tongue (Proverbs 10:19). Someone who controls their tongue is wise (it takes a huge amount of wisdom to know when to speak ... and when not to speak). In addition, if you seek out advice from someone who tends to "run at the mouth," be prepared for others to know your business! Finally, if you really want wise advice, seek out those who have a passion for the lost (Proverbs 11:30). This may not seem to make much sense on the surface, but think about it. A person who has passion for the lost understands the reality of eternity and the judgment that waits each and every person. Living in light of that understanding, they don't get caught up in this world, but tend to stay focused on what really matters. Now that's a person from whom I want to get advice.
So the next time you have to make a decision ... keep these three strategies in mind: Fear God, consult the Book and get advice (from a wise person!).
Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj
No comments:
Post a Comment