Good Advice?

Have you noticed how many people are wanting to tell us what to think?  Everywhere we turn someone is informing us what is correct – often, in direct conflict of what someone else has said.  Interestingly, this is not just a modern problem, it is something that has been going on since the beginning of time.  Thankfully, this age-old problem has produced some very insightful observations from the Bible.  Here are a few gems mined from the Old Testament: 
Proverbs 14:8 - The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, but the foolishness of fools is deceit. 
Proverbs 14:15 - The naive believes everything, but the sensible man considers his steps. 
Proverbs 21:2 - Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts. 
Proverbs 12:15 - The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel. 
Isaiah 55:8 - “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. 
Throughout the years writers and philosophers have cautioned us against merely taking the advice of others without applying wisdom.  Some observers have referred to blindly following others as having a “herd mentality” or “following the crowd” while others have referred to those who practice group-think as “sheeple”.  No, there is nothing innately wrong with being a part of the majority as long as what is being promoted is correct. 
So, how do we use wisdom to assess the advice we are given?  Here are a few thoughts:
1).  Compare what is being said to what is found in the Scriptures.  If there is a conflict – here is our answer.  If the issue is open to opinion and interpretation, there may be value in investigating it further.
2).  Examine how their advice has played out in their lives.  Has following their own principles made them more godly or better people?  Often, this will help us determine whether we should consider their words as applicable to our lives.
3).  Does their advice fit the legacy we want to leave?  We get to choose the name we leave for ourselves.  There are times when something might be morally or spiritually neutral; but it just doesn’t fit into how we want to be remembered. 
Joining the majority does not mean that we are on the correct side.  Let’s be cautious of jumping on bandwagons merely because it is what everyone else seems to be doing.  Let’s not follow along with the loudest voices or most popular pundits just because it is socially acceptable.  Each one of us must use the brain God gave us to think; we must rely upon His Word to evaluate our options and we must utilize the conscience He has instilled in us to apply reason to what is good.  When we process thoughts through these filters we should be in pretty good shape to make solid decisions.

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