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Solomon'sAdvice
forMakingMajor Decisions
One of the sources most often con–
su lted by those secking wisdom is
the Provcrbs of Solomon. Solo–
mon. known as "the first great
eommercial king of Israel.'"
wa~
not only a wise ruler, but also a
ski llcd diplomat and director of
ex tensive shipping. trading. and
mining ventu res. However. Solo–
mon is most often remembered as
one of the wisest men who ever
li ved. His Proverbs contain a rich
ve in o f practica! pr incipies worth
mining for use in making major
decisions.
The key principie for making
wise decisions. echoed throughout
Proverbs, is: "Lean on, trust a nd be
confident in the Lord wi th al! your
heart and mind. and do not rely on
your own insight or understand ing.
In all your ways ... acknowledge
Him, and He will direct and
make ... plain your pat hs" (Prov.
3:5-6,
The Amplified Bib/e).
Seek Out Facts
Of course. God will not make al! a
person's decisions fo r him th e
minute the words "Heavenly
Father, p lease give me ..." a re
formed on his li ps. As Solomon
explains. God wanls us lo learn to
ana lyz.e and eva luate facts and
make proper choiccs oursclves !
Though God certainly helped
Solomon to be wiser. Solomon pul
forth most of the etfort himself. In
fact. Solomon sl resscs throughout
Proverbs that one must
acti1•e~)"
pursuc wisdom. as wel l as knowl–
edge (facts). insight. and under–
standing (Prov. 2:3-4: 23: 12).
Solomon dwells on the va lue of
wisdom al length: '"Wisdom is bet–
ter than jewels. and a l! that you may
des ire cannot compare with her'"
(Prov. 8:11, RSV). "Happy is thl.!
man who
findswi~dom.and
the man
who gels understanding. forthe gain
from it is betterthan gain from sil ver
and its p rofi t better than gold ....
Long life is in her right hand: in her
left hand are riches and honor. Her
40
ways are ways of pleasantness"
(Prov. 3: 13- 17. RSV).
Solomon recommends o ne way
of embracing wisdom: " He who
walks wi th wise me n becomes
wise ..." (Prov. 13 :20, RSY). He
further adds that "the mo uth o f
the righteous brings forth wisdom' ·
(Prov. 10:3 1. RSV).
However. those who think they
can sit around a l! day praying for
knowledge, but who are unwilling
to diligently seek it, will find them–
selves s tagnat ing at the ir present
mental leve!.
Counsel Open-mindedly
When it comes to the subj ec t of
counsel, Solomon discusses a num–
ber of vital principies to remem–
ber. He points ou t that a person's
life-style always seems right and
pure in his own eyes (Prov. 16:2).
but goes on to warn that "he who
trusts in his
own
mind is a fool: but
he who wa lks in wisdom [trusts in
God and r ighteous wise men -
Prov. 3:5-8: 22:17- 19] will be de–
livered' ' (Prov. 28:26. RSY).
Solomon urges his rcaders to
consult an "abundance of counse l–
ors" ( Prov. 11 : 14) who will provide
a variety of opinions from diverse
viewpoints. He cau tions that it is
foolish and shamefu l to make a
decision ("answer a matter") be–
rore onc hears a number of qua li–
fied peoplc's points of view (Prov.
18: 13). becausc the first pcrson one
consults wi th might sound con–
vincing but be biased or simply
unaware of certain facts (Prov.
18: 17). lfone seeks counsel. how–
cver. he'd bctter be lOtally open–
minded. or all his efforts to seek
out truth will come to naught.
Once a person begins following
Solomon's practica! advice. deve l–
ops a worki ng relationship with his
Crea tor. and seeks wisdom. fac ts.
and counsel, he is ready to tackle
lhe big decisions of li fe head-on
and come out victorious.
-
Jim
E.
Lea
lhat when a large pe rcentage of ca–
pab le people agree o n something, it
shou ld be co n idered se ri ously. In
John and Ma rtha 's ca e . the
over–
whelming
una n imi ty of the advice
against lheir marriage hou ld have
sugges ted to them that lhey ought to
pos tpo ne their ma rriage for a few
mont h un ti l they had more time to
consider allthe facts.
Gene ra lly. when getting adv ice,
one should s trive to obtain qual ity
advice from a divers ity of sources.
Quali ty ad vice should come from
people who have no persona l s take
in a given mal lcr. individual who
are far enough removed from lhe
decision to look at it objeclively.
lt
sho u ld a lso be sought from ma ny
ditferent pa rt ies with d itfe ren t
points of view a nd outlooks.
Often. advice will va ry and even
objective observers wi ll disagree
amo ng themselves o n the best
course of action. When ad vice is
split. you have to examine addi–
tiona l criteria.
Sorne deci sions. because of their
impo rtance and permanence. de–
se rve more at lent io n . Decisio ns con–
ce rn ing marr iage and caree r. for
examp le. affect us for a longe r
pe r iod of time than mo t other
choices we make in life.
D id Jo hn and Martha rea lly 1ake
\ha t much t ime considering wit h
Whom th ey would li ke
lO
spcnd the
res t of their na t ural li ves? Did John
really mu ll over the decision lo quit
his job to start his "'own" business?
Were these dcliberatc, well-tho ughl–
o u t deci sions made o nly after con-
u lling with everal bu ine smen. o r
were they spur-of-the-momcnl deci–
sions? Impulse dccisions may be tol–
e raled lo a degree when shopping in
a groce ry s torc whe re a ll wc are
ri ski ng is a fcw dollars, but lhcy're
ce rta inly nol for ma ue rs which will
affcc t us for years to come.
-
The Get-the- Facrs Principie.
" He t hat answercth a ma tte r bcfo re
he hearet h il, il is fo lly a nd shame
unto him" (Prov. 18: 13).
T his p rincipie seems almost self–
eviden t. Pro blems a re sure to crop
up when you do n' t have or can·t get
a l! the facts.
W h en making dec is io ns . we
should ask ourselves. "Wha t 's the
worst possibl e thi ng that cou ld hap–
pen if
1
do such-and-such?"
The
PLAIN TRUTH November 1976