"attain wise counsel"
Proverbs 1:5
Chocolate or vanilla?
Hamburger or hot dog?
Lemonade or iced tea?
Paper or plastic?
Easy decisions to make? Probably. Either because you always prefer one over the other, or because at the time, you've got a hankerin' for one.
But if, for some reason, you're feeling pulled in both directions, it can be really hard to make a decision. You're busy weighing pros and cons, benefits and drawbacks.
But I think an even harder decision to make, is when someone asks for advice. I think that being a good friend, or spouse, or business partner, or parent.... means giving the best counsel you can in a given situation. But that can be really hard to do, if you feel strongly about one of the choices.
That happened to me recently. A friend from church asked my opinion on something she's planning for next year, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to give her solid advice, because I really wanted something specific. She didn't know I felt strongly about one choice, so she was expecting me to give an unbiased opinion. But that's really hard to do... when one is, you know, biased.
So I told her I'd think a little, and pray a little. And I did. And what I really wanted, more than anything, was to be able to give her an unbiased opinion. So I did some research, to make sure I knew all the pros and cons. And then I got out my Bible.
Before long, I was able to give her an opinion. A well thought-out, well prayed-over; honest "here's what I think is best for everyone involved" opinion. And I think ~ actually I feel quite certain ~ that God honored my desire to be objective, and stop thinking about what I want. He knew that what I wanted more than I wanted my way, was to be helpful to her in making her decision. And to be in agreement with her when she does. Unity. It's good.
About 20 years ago, my family visited London. And one night, several days into our visit, we were starving, and trying to decide about dinner. Half of us wanted steak, and half of us wanted pizza. This is hard to accomplish in just one restaurant. So we spent several minutes debating the merits of a pizza place vs a steak restaurant. We looked up a few places, and discovered there was a pizza place and a steak place near each other, only a couple of subway stops away. So we decided to go look at both of them, and then make a decision based on that.
So we got ready to go, then walked to the subway station, then boarded the subway. All the while it's getting later and later, and we're getting hungrier and hungrier. And then we got off the subway, and walked up the stairs to the street level to discover...
... that we'd gotten off at the wrong stop.
We stood there at the top of the stairs, looking around. There was only one restaurant in sight, and it wasn't a pizza place or a steak place.
And it was delicious.
You know that expression, "hunger is the best sauce" ? Totally true. Our hunger was stronger than anyone's desire for steak or for pizza, and we were completely in agreement in our desire for food.
Unity. It gets things done.
So, you can keep insisting on pizza, or you can put your wishes aside, and ask Him what He thinks. Trust me; it'll be delicious.
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| from chow.com ~ makin' me hungry right now! |
~ "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but he who heeds counsel is wise" ~
Proverbs 12:15
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