Is it apparent that the
"sleight of men" frequent the
household of faith? And in spite of being warned we, as
little children, are being
"carried about by every wind of doctrine" (cf.
Ephesians 4:14). The choppy
seas of sunken reasoning is driving many a vessel from the
glassy surface of grace to the rocks.
Ubiquitous
is the counsel of man ... and that freely dispensed. The
age old adage that opinions are as noses is not overstated.
Nothing so puffs one up like being asked his or her opinion.
Ask a man what he thinks, either sincerely or in passing, and
you will not go away wanton.
“… and in
multitude of counselors there is safety.” At
the risk of tie-tack and Harley, I wish to dispel a common
misnomer concerning this verse. If you are like me, you
have heard this verse interpreted to state that the more counsel
{i.e. human opinion} you can gather on any given issue or
decision before you, the safer you will be. The trouble I
find however, is that a multitude of human counsel sends me away
safely confused rather than safely counseled. Ask ten
Christians for input on the topic or doctrine of your choice and
you’ll need a flow chart to track the results.
Can you imagine David seeking a
consensus on Goliath? Absurd, you say, yet we take that
very path when facing the giants which taunt us. This ‘Dear
Abby’ approach to walking with GOD is conducive to herds,
but not to flocks. We have succumbed to the world’s polling
mentality in finding direction for our lives … after all, ten
out of twelve spies can’t be wrong, can they?
I have found in my work with people that
there are two extremes. On one end are those who do not
care about truth and just simply want to be left alone, on the
other are the smug and arrogant who already know it all. I
never hope to speak to either of these, but rather to the honest
and humble who genuinely want to grow as a Christian and learn
to walk with the LORD. Many are the questions about life,
living, love, lucre and a variety of other issues regarding
GOD’S will. Thus to point you to any other than the AUTHOR of
life, seems fruitless.
I offer these 3 tenets as Creed unto your
counsel:
-
Do
make GOD’S Word your multitude:
"THY testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors."
-
Do seek after and listen to GOD’S
chosen men: (cf. Ephesians 4:11-14)
… men of GOD are commanded to command us:
"For I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of GOD." … so far
as men preach the Word, we are obliged to heed and follow.
-
Do side with GOD when you find
yourself in a conflict of
loyalty: "There is no wisdom nor
understanding nor counsel against the LORD."