"Different Voices"

EPISODE 242

Series: Cross Training • Lifelong Learning: Seeking Wise Counsel

Listen Carefully to Wise Instruction

Watch

Listen

Read

This year at a teen event, we had a competition where several teams had to guide a blindfolded teammate through a maze using only their voice. It was fun but a little chaotic, as our young folks tried to make their way, discerning between different voices and instructions: "Turn left!" "No, right!" "Keep going, you're doing great!" It's a bit like the different advice we receive as we navigate our own twists and turns. Who do you listen to — or should you just shut the voices out, determined to stumble along on your own?

We're Cross Training to develop our lifelong learning, the last of twelve marks of the Master we've worked on this year. Lifelong learning comes when we follow Jesus as disciples, hunger and thirst after righteousness, examine ourselves, and seek out wise counsel. So why do we need wise advisors, and how do we find them?

What You Need to Know

Naturally, what makes sense to you makes sense to you! But we all need to hear other points of view. Even a fool is "right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice" (Prov. 12:15). If you think going it alone — listening to no one — proves your strength, remember that the battle usually goes to those with the best counselors: "Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war" (Prov. 20:18). In fact, while you don't want to listen to just anyone, this is one area of life where more is usually better. "Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed" (Prov. 15:22).

So when you come to a crossroads and face a challenging decision, look for those who can help you choose the right way. And even in your day-to-day walk, who would you love to take with you on this journey, to help you see things clearly and live well? Looking around your life, fill your cabinet of advisors asking yourself, "who do I want to have in my ear?" Prayerfully build relationships with mentors and friends who exhibit the fruit of the Spirit as those who "belong to Christ Jesus" (Gal. 5:22-24).

What You Need to Do

Choose your advisors carefully. Give attention to "your father's instruction" and "your mother's teaching" (Prov. 1:8). Rather than leaning toward those with whom you have the most in common, look for wisdom and the fear of the Lord (Prov. 9:10). Unlike Rehoboam, who lost part of his kingdom by choosing the advice of his young friends over older counselors (1 Kings 12), seek out mentors and thinking partners who have more experience than you (cf. Prov. 16:31). As Job said, "Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days" (Job 12:12). That doesn't mean we should "despise" the wisdom of young, faithful people (1 Tim. 4:12). To the contrary, they too can offer a unique and helpful perspective, holding to their "sincere faith" in the word they've received (2 Tim. 1:5).

Humbly listen, even when it's uncomfortable to hear. Never become too proud for correction, since anyone "who hates reproof is stupid" (Prov. 12:1). Find the "sweetness of a friend" in their "earnest counsel" (Prov. 27:9), even when their "faithful ... wounds" of correction (Prov. 27:5-6) hurt all the more for their frankness and love (Lev. 19:17-18).

Don't equate any human’s advice with God's wisdom. To David and Absalom, "the counsel Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God" (2 Sam. 16:23). That can get dangerous even with the most sage and experienced advisor. Wisdom can come in a lot of varieties from a lot of sources, some better than others (cf. James 3:13-17). Christ’s disciple will always look first to the "Wonderful Counselor" (Isa. 9:6; cf. Isa. 11:2). And so this series ends where it began — Cross Training under the instruction and example of the Master!

Through the Week

• Read (Mon) — Luke 2:40-52; Matt. 7:6; Psalm 1:1-6; 1 Cor. 15:33; 1 Thess. 5:6-14
• Reflect (Tue) — Who are my counselors now, and who should I seek to advise me?
• Request (Wed) — "Holy Father, fill my life with an abundance of wise counselors" (cf. Prov. 15:22).
• Respond (Thu) — Buy lunch for a wise, older saint, enjoying their company and taking in their insights.
• Reach Out (Fri) — How has wise counsel made a difference in your life?