Wise Counsel

Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. 

We all learn from the experience, wisdom, guidance and counsel of loving relatives, righteous teachers, honest friends, godly mentors, true history and holy Scripture. It was writer and philosopher George Santayana that said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We don’t want to reinvent the wheel or repeat mistakes from the past, so we must not walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, nor trust on our own gut-feelings. We must bounce our ideas off the solid “sounding board” of the wise counsel of thrusted confidants. 

 

Proverbs 12:15 “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel

is wise.” It goes beyond, honoring and respecting the knowledge and wisdom of those who have lived longer and experienced life, gaining wisdom from years of being taught, listening to others, learning from resources, plus trial and error experiences. It takes filtering that counsel through the Word of God. Sincere people can be sincerely wrong, but as James 3:17 says, “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” Seek wise counsel but never leave the Lord out of your equations and deliberations on issues, questions and decisions.

 

We are spiritual beings (soul and spirit) existing and living in this material world in physical bodies, but we are here [in this time and place] for a purpose. Ecclesiastes 1:4 says, “One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.” May one generation learn from experience, knowledge and wisdom of the previous, then pass it all along to the next. Proverbs 13:20 instructs us, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” 

 

Both Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1 say, “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.” God sent Jesus to save the sinners and adopt those who accept the gift of Salvation as children in the kingdom of Heaven. Those who accepted God’s free gift of forgiveness and eternal life bought by the death of His only begotten Son on the Cross will participate in sweet, unbroken fellowship with the One who created and redeemed them. The Lord Jesus commanded us in Matthew 28:19-20 “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

 

Be loving, be faithful and give wise counsel.

In Christ, Brian