Seeking Godly Counsel

When we really want to buy something, how many times do we slow down enough to seek Godly counsel before purchasing it?

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. So, if we have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially wisdom, understanding and knowledge, then we should inherently know that seeking godly counsel is a wise thing to do.

The Bible gives us many verses related to seeking counsel:

• A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel (Proverbs 1:5).
• Through presumption comes nothing but strife, but with those who receive counsel is wisdom.  (Proverbs 13:10).
• Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days (Proverbs 19:20).
• Prepare plans by consultation . . . (Proverbs 20:18).
• Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory (Proverbs 11:14).
• Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed (Proverbs 15:22).

Those are only a few of the 48 Scriptures verses I found that encourage us to seek counsel.

But how often do we actually go out of our way to seek counsel – especially when it comes to financial matters? For most people, the answer is never or not often enough!

Most of us are very proud of our independence, especially as it applies to our financial situation. When we come face to face with a decision, we don’t relinquish control to anyone or seek help–we’re independent, and we don’t need anyone’s counsel. Yet one of the best ways to avoid financial problems is to seek godly counsel before making financial decisions, especially large decisions.

So, who do you ask for counsel, and how do you go about asking? Even though it may take a little courage to ask for advice, our most trustworthy advisors are the ones who have been there all along—parents, or close, trusted friends. Tell them the facts of your situation in a straightforward manner, being totally truthful. Just tackle the conversation head on, open your heart, and listen closely.

If you are married, your spouse should be your number one source of counsel. You will both suffer the consequences of any bad decision, so it is important for both of you to agree on the course of action. If you do not agree, wait, pray and keep talking about it.  Nothing will ruin your marriage faster than making one sided decisions.

We know because that’s what happened to us. We talked around our differences but never came to a decision on which we both agreed. Many years ago, we were in the middle of buying land and working with an architect to design and build our dream house. This was at the same time my husband decided to start his own business and quit his job which paid a generous salary.

The bad news is that we were not on the same page financially. We never really had any financial issues up till that point in our marriage so we never needed to sit down and hash through a budget, talk about debt or plan for saving. The money just came in and went out.

We never thought of seeking godly counsel in an honest and forthright way.  If we did get input from anyone, our questions were couched in language that assured us of getting the answer we wanted, because of course, we knew we were right. Almost as soon as our dream house was built and the mortgage payments started, we ran into financial turmoil.

The verse from Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of fools is right in their own eyes, but those who listen to advice are the wise.”  And we were certainly fools who thought we were right in our own eyes. The results of those actions were one of the worst financial mistakes we ever made and those mistakes almost cost us our marriage.

Like us, many people have lost a lot of money and have subjected themselves and their families to years of heartache and stress by making bad financial decisions. And what’s really tragic Is they could have avoided most of their difficulties if they had simply sought counsel from someone with a solid understanding of God’s way of handling money.

All of us should intentionally seek to surround ourselves with godly people who can counsel us is different areas. We each have limited experience and knowledge and we need the insights, suggestions and thoughts of others to make a proper decision.

The one common attitude that keeps us from seeking counsel is pride. Some people think seeking advice is a sign of weakness. It’s against our American spirit of independence to ask for help. The American mantra of “Stand on your own two feet” seems to contradict getting advice and counsel from anyone.

Yet this is totally contrary to what we see in the Bible, which encourages a spirit of interdependence in the Body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, we are described as a body where in order to function properly, we need each other. As we are one body in Christ, God encourages us to seek wise counsel and to rely on each other for Godly advice. The Christian life is not one of independence from one another; we’re to be dependent upon each other and grow together in love and faith.

There are cautions when seeking counsel. First of all, it is important to be totally open and honest. Because of our pride sometimes we don’t give all the facts. We just offer up the facts that will give us the answer we want. This isn’t really seeking counsel – it’s going through the motions. So, when you ask for advice stick to the facts – all of them, and don’t disguise or hide the facts in order to sway the person to give you the answer you want to hear.

You also need to be careful about who you ask for advice. Sales people may get a larger commission by pushing you to buy a certain product. Or they may pressure you to buy immediately so they can make their sales quota. It is certainly appropriate to gather facts from experts (like sales people) when making a financial decision. But godly advice is best gotten from a person you know well and who has no vested interest in your decision other than your welfare.

If you don’t have someone in your life who can give you financial advice based on the Bible, pray for the Lord to bring that person into your life. It will be one of the best decisions you can make. A great way to find godly people is through the Compass Catholic Navigating Your Finances God’s Way Bible study. Get involved with your church community and you’re sure to find brothers and sisters in Christ who are more than willing to help and share the Catholic perspectives on handling money God’s way.

For more on this topic, connect with the Compass Catholic podcast on Podbean as we discuss seeking godly counsel.