Proverbs 15:22

Proverbs 15:22, "Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellers they are established."

Of the hundreds of proverbs recorded in Scripture, there are those that are more memorable than others.  I think this particular one to be one of those more memorable proverbs.  It’s relatively simple and to the point while providing a balance of instruction and conviction.  This proverb points out the path to success while confronting anyone who is inclined not to take that path.  Solomon teaches us that success hinges in large part on how much we value outside counsel.  This proverb essentially draws a scale that correlates how many counselors we invite into our lives with how much success we’ll have in life.  To the left of the scale, zero counselors result in certain disappointment.  To the right of the scale, ten counselors result in likely success or “establishment.”

This proverb isn’t just about counsel; it’s about the amount of counsel.  The contrast of this proverb is not between a lack of counsel and the presence of counsel; it’s between no counsel and a lot of counsel.   The contrast is “without” and “in the multitude of.”  Scripture places a heavy emphasis on the “multitude of voices” when it comes to making the right decision.  The Bedrock of Jewish Society, the Mosaic Law, required a multitude of voices to convict the accused of any crime.  God knew, as should we, that one voice could easily misunderstand, misrepresent or lie about a person’s actions.  God didn’t want anyone, nor should we, to have their life, future or reputation be determined by a single voice.  Deuteronomy 19:15 states, “ONE witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of TWO witnesses, or at the mouth of THREE witness, shall the matter be ESTABLISHED.”  This God-given principle would be carried all throughout the Bible and applied to those matters that carried great spiritual weight.  Jesus applied this principle to church discipline when in Matthew 18:16, He said, “But if he (the offender) will not hear thee, then take with thee ONE or TWO more, that in the mouth of TWO or THREE witnesses every word may be ESTABLISHED.”  Paul applied this principle to his ministry to the Corinthians when he said in 2 Corinthians 13:1, “This is the third time I am coming to you.  In the mouth of TWO or THREE witnesses shall every word be ESTABLISHED.”

We all have purposes and intentions throughout our lives.  These purposes are a necessary and appropriate responsibility for life.  Solomon listed these “purposes” in Ecclesiastes 3 as birthing, dying, planting, harvesting, killing, healing, breaking down, building up, weeping, laughing, mourning, dancing, casting away stones, gathering stones, embracing, refraining from embracing, getting, losing, keeping, forsaking, rending, sewing, keeping silent, speaking, loving, hating, fighting and making peace.  In our cursed world, there is a particular time for all of these “purposes.”  If our appropriate intentions to see any of these things accomplished are going to succeed, we need to invite outside voices in our lives.  We need to hear other perspectives.  We need to hear more experienced voices especially.  If we choose to trust our mind alone, the Bible promises disappointment.  If we choose to trust our mind and one other voice that we suspect will affirm our thought process, the Bible implies likely disappointment.   If we choose, however, to consider a plurality of voices more experienced than ours, the Bible promises success.  This is true for the practical, relational and spiritual elements of our world.  

If you “purpose” to build a home, your intentions will be disappointed if you don’t consult with a multitude of different professionals who, for a living or in their past have built a house.  To build a home, one must know a lot about site work, drainage, plumbing, framing, roofing, insulating, heating, cooling, electric, siding, drywalling, masonry, cabinetry, engineering, building codes and so much more.  Any intention to build a home will be disappointed if a man or woman fails to consult with a “multitude of expert and experienced counselors.”  According to Solomon’s scale, the more experts a prospective builder speaks to, the more likely he or she is to see those building intentions become a successful reality, or be “established.”

If you “purpose” to get married or be a successful spouse, your intentions will be disappointed if you don’t consult with a multitude of more experienced and successful married adults.  If you seek no outside input, you’re sure to fail.  If you seek a little input, your chances at success increase.  If you seek a multitude of counsel, your chances of succeeding in and at marriage go up substantially.  Without counsel, your limited understanding, perspective and experience will rob you of the wisdom you need to succeed at such an important relationship.  If you only seek counsel from one person, you’ll likely seek counsel from the person closest to you, which is probably the person that thinks the most like you and will only affirm your limited and skewed mindset.  If you only seek counsel from one person, it’s quite possible that that one person will give poor, shallow or altogether bad counsel.  If you get a multitude of counsel, you’ll have a variety of counsel to compare and at the end of the day, if you’re seeking experienced and godly counsel, you’ll be able to rule out the poor counsel that you may have gotten from one or more people.  This is true for any purpose you may have from relationships to logistics to careers to homes to ministries.  This proverb is the scale that will successfully predict whether your purposes will be disappointed or be established in a challenging world.  That scale simply correlates the number of wise counselors you invite into your life with whether or not you will see your intentions come to fruition.

Whatever your purpose, consider the two or three rule of Scripture – “in the mouth of two or three, let every word be established.”  If you want to succeed in life, have the mindset, “the more the merrier” when it comes to counselors.  If you choose not to do that out of pride, just know that disappointment awaits.