Are You Asking the Right People?

Good Morning,

When I was a young boy my family frequently went on vacations together.  As we traveled my dad would occasionally reach in the glove box and pull out a big sheet of paper.  It was all folded up and when unfolded revealed lots of different colored lines and dots.  If I remember correctly, it was called a map! Some of you may remember those things.

Why did my dad use them?  Because he was going somewhere he had never been and didn’t know how to get there. Seems simple enough, right?  Does that sound like life to you? We are all trying to get somewhere we have never been before.  If you were going on a road trip and needed directions would you consult someone who, like you had never been there? No.  You would seek out someone who knows the way.

Therein lies an important lesson.  In general, it isn’t very bright to take significant life direction from people at your same stage of life.  It is much more shrewd to take direction from people who are already walking, or have walked, where you want to go.  That will always be the case in your life, no matter how old you are.  You never outgrow that need.

One hindrance to us asking for directions can be that we are convinced we are already right. If you always have to be right, you will always be limited in your options.  If, on the other hand, you decide that it is better to make the right decision than to be right, you are infinitely better off.  Many times what we are looking for, both in our prayers and in our guidance seeking, is affirmation that what we want to do is in fact the best decision.  If you are unwilling to listen and heed the advice of wiser, more experienced people then go ahead and stumble on down the road.

Pause for a moment and reflect on these insightful verses from Proverbs:

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel. (12:15)

Without consultation plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed.(15:22)

Is your future worth seeking out those who have “been there, and done that”; people who could share what they have learned on the road to where you want to go?  I would caution that the price of not doing that is much higher than you can afford to pay.

Stanley closes this chapter on guidance with a compelling statement.  Think on it this week.

“Asking (for direction) doesn’t mean you lack wisdom – it’s evidence of wisdom.  Because successful people know what they don’t know, and they are quick to go to people who do.”

Live this week on purpose,
Ron Klopfenstein

(This series is based on the book The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley)