Jump Start # 556

Proverbs 19:20 “Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.”

Proverbs has an interesting impact upon us. A person can randomly pick a Proverb, read it and say, “That’s right.” Another aspect of Proverbs that is interesting is, although we realize the truth of the passage, we often don’t do that ourselves. Our passage today is a great example of that.

Getting advice is great. The opinion of others, their experiences can keep us from making the same mistakes that they did and it can help us avoid some real problems. Counsel is looked upon as someone’s opinion, and generally, if it goes along with what we already thought it’s fine, but if it doesn’t, we ignore it by thinking, “that’s just their opinion.”

Listen to counsel—implied in that statement are two great principles. First, the value of  seeking the right counsel. Asking a broke cousin about budgets and financial tips isn’t too smart. Asking a fat guy about exercise programs isn’t worth the effort. Asking someone who never goes to church about God, isn’t too smart. The same goes for reading what they say in books, blogs or any other medium. It’s important to find wise counsel. If someone is getting married, they ought to talk to someone who has been married for fifty years, not someone who is divorced. If someone wants advice about godly things, they ought to ask a godly person.  Asking someone new in a certain field isn’t good either. If I want to know something about art, I’m going to talk to someone who has spent decades in studying art. If I want to know something about the Bible, I’m going to ask someone who has spent decades in reading and studying the Bible.

If a person asks the wrong person, they will get the wrong answer.

The other implied statement is that once you have asked the person for advice, you LISTEN to it. Listen carries a deeper meaning than just hearing. It involves doing. Our passage immediately adds, “accept discipline” to the “listen to counsel.” These are not opposites nor two different subjects. Often the counsel will tell us to stop with our plans. We’ve not thought things through. What we are thinking is wrong. Accept discipline. Accept criticism. Accept the advice that points the finger at us. Accept the call for change in our ways. We have a way of listening to what we want to hear. We do that with music. If there is a song playing that I don’t like, I’ll switch to another song. If there is a show I don’t like on TV, I’ll flip through the channels. I’ll surf the web…I’ll  bypass all the things that I don’t want to find what I want. We can do that to advice as well, just listening to what sounds good to me. The person that does that will never change and never see himself as he truly is. LISTEN to counsel…ACCEPT discipline. Those things can change us and shape us into a better person.

Let’s consider two counselors:

God—nothing tops what God says. When faced with a decision, seek what God says. First, read what the Bible says. Second pray to God. Before you marry, what does God say about that? What does God say about raising a child? What does God say about what you owe your community? God loves you more than anyone else. His interests are in your eternal well being. He sees beyond the here and now. God may take you to some tough places, but it’s that journey that will build your character and strengthen your faith. We sing a song, “Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?” Got a lot to do today, have you talked it over with God? Big things coming down the road at work, have you Listened to His counsel? Listening to God will get us out of a lot of trouble and it will keep us righteous.

Righteous brethren—that’s next on the list. They top family. Often family members don’t have the spiritual perspective as they should. They may just seek your happiness and forget about your holiness and especially glorifying God. Family members may advice you to divorce when that’s neither right, good or the best option. Family members may encourage you to file bankruptcy and walk away from your debts when that may not be the thing a Christian should do. Family has only one interest, and that is you. Righteous brethren will help you keep your perspective, focus and place in God’s picture. I say, “righteous brethren” rather than just “Christians,” because I have found some who say they wear the name Christ, do not always act very righteous. Their advice sounds self centered, faithless and earthbound. I don’t want that. I need righteous brethren who will remind me of what God says, who will help me see what the decision may do to me spiritually and what impact it may have on my influence. I still listen to the counsel of righteous brethren. I need it, and I expect you probably do to.

The shepherds of the church would be a starting place. They ought to be the righteous brethren you can count on. That’s not always the case. If not, find other righteous brethren. Ask them to help you see through a problem, make a wise decision, or what should be done next. Listen to them. Accept their discipline. It will help you the rest of your days.

In time, you may be that person that people turn to for advice and counsel. When that happens, give the person careful time. Think through the situation. Make connections to the Bible and what God wants from all of us. What you tell someone can change their life.

Listen…Accept. That’s hard for some to do. Pride makes us think that we don’t need to talk to anyone. Pride tells us that we know what to do. Pride often puts us on a dead end street. Pride has a hard time listening and accepting. Don’t be the hotshot whose pride leads to some unwise decisions and choices that hurts the family for many years. It is the fool who won’t listen and accept.

Maybe you need to spend some time talking with God today before you get about the day. Could it be you’ve made plans and haven’t sought counsel? It may be time to pick up the phone and call a righteous person and ask them for some help. There is never any shame in this. The shame comes when we fail to do this and we make a mess of things. The shame comes when folks say, “I saw this coming,” but nothing was ever said.

Listen…accept. It’ll do you a lot of good.

Roger