I asked a lady with wild purple hair and gobs of bright red eye makeup to help me choose new glasses frames. Based on her appearance, I thought she’d steer me toward bedazzled specs from the Elton John Collection, but she didn’t. In fact, she actually gave me some solid guidance.
I probably wouldn’t have sought this lady’s advice if my husband hadn’t left his opinions at home that day. Like a well-trained seal tooting a horn to earn a fish, he was simply replying “Yeah, that’s fine” to every one of the many frames I tried on.
Like countless husbands through the ages, Joe knows there’s often no safe or sane way for him to honestly respond to the dreaded “How does this look?” question. “Yeah, that’s fine” is the innocuous, robotic answer men adopt after they discover it’s the surest escape from that particularly perilous verbal trap.
Since Joe wasn’t being especially helpful in my quest to choose new glasses and all the employees were busy, I was on my own. I eventually found four I liked, but I really wanted another opinion, so when “goth gal” became available, I went up to the counter and asked her to help me choose one.
I’m ashamed to admit I was surprised by her professionalism and expertise. The experience reminded me what a mistake it can be to judge a person by their outward appearance. It also prompted me to ponder how we go about choosing people to give us advice and counsel.
In our information-overloaded culture, opinions and advice abound on just about every imaginable subject. Posting a question on social media is like tossing a hunk of meat into a den of hungry lions. The problem isn’t usually the quantity of advice available to us; it’s the quality. Asking for opinions on superficial matters isn’t a big deal, but when it comes to sorting out the deeper issues of life, we should choose our advisors carefully.
Call me narrow, politically incorrect, and uncool, but when I have serious questions, the advice I trust is that which lines up with teachings and principles in the Bible, which I consider to be the “owner’s manual” for life.
Hebrews 4:12 describes God’s word as “… living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
The Apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness … (2 Timothy 3:16).”
The Scriptures are like a scalpel, hammer, lie detector, antibiotic, and salve, all in one. Sounds like a great tool to have in one’s counseling toolbox.
As King Saul of Old Testament fame discovered, asking advice from the wrong person can be disastrous. He was stripped of his kingdom because he got tired of waiting for God’s answer and instead sought counsel from a medium (think witchy woman).
While advice from Oprah, Dr. Phil, and Dear Abby may be entertaining, I take it with a grain of salt. And I’m definitely not about to consult horoscopes, psychics or palm readers. No, when I’m wrestling with a weighty life issue, what I really want to know is this: What does God say about it?
Anyone who can help me figure that out is a good advisor, no matter what their résumé says … or what color their hair may be.
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord … .” – Psalm 1:1-2a