Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.
A man’s pride and sense of self-importance will bring him down, But he who has a humble spirit will obtain honor.
One Christmas morning, a father had given his son a toy model car. The car required some assembly, but the dad thought it would be a fun father-son project. His son was so excited that he wanted to put it together and play with it immediately, even before he opened his other gifts. So the duo opened the box and laid out all the pieces on the breakfast table.
The dad opened the instructions and started reading. It was clear that the assembly had to be done in a specific order. But the son insisted that he knew what had to be done…besides he had seen the toy on television. The son started grabbing pieces and putting them together. The father told him, “Slow down son. There’s a certain order we’ve got to follow. Also some of these pieces look similar, but aren’t the same. Let’s take our time.” Before the father could finish speaking, the son had grabbed two parts and tried to force one into the other. One of the pieces broke right when the father said, “Let’s take our time.” The broken piece finally got the son’s attention.
The little boy displayed attitudes and behaviors that are way too common in adults. Seeing the assembled car on television put a vision in the son’s mind and made him think, “I got this. I know what to do.” Pride filled his mind with “a high and inordinate opinion” of his superiority, knowledge and abilities, even with his father sitting right next to him ready to give him proper instructions. His excitement and desire drove him to move ahead with the assembly hastily, ignoring the advice of, “Let’s take our time.”
When was the last time you got ahead of the Lord? What was the last situation where you took action, on your own, without a well thought out plan. When was the last time you did not seek or follow wise counsel? When was the last time a “broken” situation finally got your attention.
Don’t let your pride, fueled by emotions, cause you to needlessly “break” a situation. The little boy broke the rear axle of the car which made it immobile, thus preventing him from fully enjoying the gift. Humble yourself. If the situation allows, take your time. If a quick decision has to be made, seek the Lord in that moment and ask for wisdom. He will give it to you freely (James 1:5-6). Those few seconds can be the difference between a broken situation and fully enjoying His fellowship and gifts.