Wise Counsel Part 1
Everyone Has A nose
Ever heard this one? “Opinions are like noses, everybody’s got one and each one has a couple of holes in it.”
Unfortunately, counsel is usually just that; opinion. Pride presumes that the “secrets of life” have been left to us to be “figured out,” and the source of enlightenment is the natural mind. At best, that’s guaranteed failure, because “There is a way that seems right unto man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.” The natural mind is in a fallen condition, not the original one in the beginning.
The Way Things Really Work
“The Lord by wisdom has founded the earth.” Rather than originating from the randomness of big bang chaos, the universe was designed with purpose. Its Builder used His operational principles called “wisdom,” as its building blocks. All things operate by these principles. It’s the way things work.
Wisdom then, is knowing the way things work. Being wise, is living in harmony with those ways.
God characterizes these “ways” by saying, “my ways are not your ways…, but are higher than your ways.” In other words, they are usually opposite of our natural inclination. No wonder we stumble through life relying on our “best guess” for guidance. It’s like groping in the dark for the light switch.
Example;
Gravity is a principle by which the universe operates. It’s one of the ways things work. You are wise to know this and live in cooperation with it. You are foolish if you don’t, because conflicts will arise. The fool dismisses the predictions of wisdom, relying instead on the ways that seem right to him. The Wright Brothers got it right by recognizing the principles of flight; lift, drag, thrust, i.e., the way things work. All the others crashed.
It’s just as vital to know the way things work in daily living. Principles of life such as our design, ownership, responsibility, morality, authority, purpose, success etc., are just as crucial to recognize as gravity. Getting it right with these will be the difference between soaring in the heights of success or crashing in failure.
The Source of Success
Wise counsel traces conflict to the principles of God that are being missed or violated and restores harmony with that wisdom and its maker.
Since wisdom is the key to success and problem solving, God is delighted to give it to us. “If any one lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men generously… and it shall be given him.” We must pull the plug on our own natural mind and plug into a new power source: God.
Wise counsel is applying God given wisdom to a situation. Compared to wise counsel, opinion is about as as worthwhile as a crooked arrow. Just ask Job.
Continued in Wise Counsel Part 2 “Job’s Friends”
https://hedoesallthings.com/truth-be-told/wise-counsel-part-2