HOW TO GET GOOD ADVICE
Wisdom isn't in the multitude of voices; it's finding, and listening to, the right one.
Fred Smith
July 1, 1989
Years ago I remember listening to Arthur Godfrey do a radio ad for a cure-all medicine. The ad went, "At last, hope for middle age." Godfrey paused and said, "Hope? I've got hope. What I need is help."
At times, most of us could echo Godfrey's words. We need help. Especially in the complex situations we encounter in church life, we often need wise counsel.
There's never any shortage of opinions, but how do we get good advice?
Here are the principles I've discovered.
Deciding to Seek Advice
Some time ago I had an experience that let me know, particularly in the business world, how difficult it is for some people to seek advice. I was with executives from a major oil company, discussing a troubling problem the company faced. I remembered a friend of mine had faced a similar problem, and so I called him.
Within fifteen minutes, he told me exactly what I needed to know. After I hung up the phone, one of the executives turned to me and said, "Fred, you just did something I could never do."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I couldn't have asked for help like that," he admitted. "My ego wouldn't let me."
"Getting advice is a way of life with me," I said. "It never occurs to me not to ask for it."
The first step in getting good advice is deciding to seek it. This, of course, is very scriptural. The Bible is full of words about how one's strength can be multiplied with the advice of others. I especially think of the proverb that says, "In many counselors there is wisdom."
But you must differentiate between asking for advice and asking other people to make your decisions. I will never let anybody else take the responsibility of making my decisions. I am asking their advice, not delegating the decision to them.
Figuring Out What You Need
The second ...
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