Proverbs 1:8 says, “My child, listen when you father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.”
Think back when you were a child. Did you ever say to yourself, My parents just don’t know anything? I sure did. I used to think, There is no way my parents know more than I do about life today. It’s a different time, a different era, and they don’t have a clue what I’m going through. Of course, the truth was, they had been here longer and had experienced a lot more in life than I had. God put your parents into your life for a purpose. He put them there as His representatives, and listening to their instructions as children helped us avoid unnecessary mistakes.
That’s true even when we become adults. As children, most of us understand the value of our parents’ counsel, but as we get older we often carry with us that immature mindset of believing we know better. We think we have it all figured out, and nobody can give us advice about what’s good for us. We fool ourselves into thinking we don’t need good counsel, but here’s the thing: counsel can determine your day, and it can determine your life.
Proverbs 1:5 says, “A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.” From whom do you get counsel? Because it is a choice. You are the one who decides where you get counsel. Do you choose to listen to the counsel of the Lord? Do you read and practice His Word? Do you ask God to teach you and then listen for His voice? You see, you have to seek the Lord’s counsel as a priority—the first thing!—every day because, believe me, you will find bad counsel around every corner.
If you’d like to read more about wise counsel and how to avoid the pitfalls of life, click here.