Proverbs 11:14 "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellers there is safety."
Considering who Solomon’s primary audience was, this proverb represents critical advice. Solomon was writing primarily to his son, Prince Rehoboam who was in line to inherit the crown. Solomon wanted him to know the value of counsel. It is for this reason that he wrote about “the people” and how THEY would be harmed in a land “where no counsel is.” If he was going to help “the people,” he needed to value counsel. If he was going to help himself, he needed to value counsel. Being young once and being blessed with heavenly wisdom, the king knew how tempting it is for a young man to foolishly think he has all of the answers. Solomon knew how easy it is for a man to think asking for advice is a sign of weakness. He wanted his son and all of his readers to know that there is Great DANGER in being a LONE RANGER. He wanted his son to value outside input.
When a throne room has no counsel coming into it, its king will fall and eventually, his people will fall. When counsel isn’t welcome in the oval office, its president will fall and eventually, the people will fall. When counsel isn’t sought for in a home, its parents will fall and eventually, the children will fall. No one person has all of the answers. One person may have most of the answers but no one person has all of the answers.
When mankind was made, he was designed with intelligence, curiosity and the ability to solve problems but he was not given omniscience. In fact, the Scriptures clearly infer intentionally designed deficiencies when God said out loud, “it is not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). On his own, he was missing something. By himself, he was lacking something. Surely, companionship was that primary “something” but it was not the only “something” that was missing. He was also missing perspective. He couldn’t see the world as Eve saw it nor could Eve see it the way Adam saw it. To this day, men see the world through blue lenses and women see the world through pink lenses, generally-speaking. God has designed man with both the ability and the desire to learn but He more importantly, designed man with the need to learn. Without a man’s perspective, a woman is not seeing life from all angles. Without a woman’s perspective, a man is not seeing life from all angles. God designed us to lack a perspective and ultimately, to need another perspective. This would cultivate companionship and ultimately, cultivate dependence on one another. This is why it takes a man AND a woman to create a life – so that each child would ideally have both perspectives in his upbringing.
In referencing Creation in our commentary on this proverb, I am not suggesting that Solomon is teaching his son that he needed a woman’s counsel to succeed or that a woman needed a man’s counsel to succeed. In referencing our Maker’s design for humanity, I am simply pointing out that we are intentionally deficient in our perspective. By Divine Design, we lack understanding at birth. Learning is more than gaining knowledge; it is gaining perspective. Our eyes can only see so much. Our minds can only process so much. We are all limited in our understanding and in our perspective. It is precisely for this reason that we need one another. It was our Maker’s intention that we would learn and that we would learn from one another. It was our Maker’s intention that we saw COUNSEL as our path to knowledge and understanding. If a child was to learn, he would have to do so with the help of his parents. If a child was to learn the most, he would have to do so with the help of his very different parents. If a child was to continue to learn, he would have to do so with the help of his teachers, elders and even his friends.
God wants us to see COUNSEL as valuable and necessary so that we would never become independent. Independence is the precursor of pride. God hates pride and the last thing He wanted to do was to create a being that was inclined towards pride. A perspective deficiency would be the cure to independence and pride. Nothing humbles a boy better than his mother finding a sock in minutes after he spent hours looking for it. Nothing humbles a man better than his wife finding the tool in minutes after he spent hours looking for it. Women see the world differently than men do. Women see some things from a better angle. Men see some things from a better angle. We’re wired to see some things better than each other in order for us to learn that we’re lacking and that we need to rely on the insight and perspective of others.
Not only do men see things differently as women, but men see things differently than other men and women see things differently than other women. There are a million variations of personalities and perspective. No one person has all of the answers and no two people see the same thing. Just as we all range in height, we all see the same thing from different heights. Just as we all range in vision, we all see the same thing with varying levels of clarity. Just as we all experience different emotions, we all see the same thing with different conclusions. Some fans see hope in a loss while others see despair. Some people see opportunity in a new job while others see obligation.
God designed us to be different and He designed us to be deficient.
Without the input of others, we’re without the details necessary to see the whole picture. Counsel is like a puzzle piece. Without counsel, you don’t have all of the pieces to see the picture properly. Without the puzzle pieces, you can’t make sense of life and if you can’t make sense of it, you certainly won’t be successful in it. On the contrary, with a “multitude” of puzzle pieces, you’re more likely to see the big picture and when you can see the big picture, you’re more likely to make sense of life and be successful. An independent spirit, or a person who sees counsel as unnecessary, will be a proud person and pride always results in a FALL. A person dependent on godly counsel will be a person who enjoys safety.
God wants us to see Counsel as critical to our success. He wants us to see that “it is not good that a man should be alone” and that there is danger in being a lone ranger. The best spouses, parents, pastors and leaders are those who seek counsel. The people who seek counsel and ultimately, apply that counsel are the ones who make it safely through life while the ones who see counsel as a sign of weakness are the ones that fall short in life. If you think you have all of the answers, get good insurance because you’re going get hurt.
When a throne room has no counsel coming into it, its king will fall and eventually, his people will fall. When counsel isn’t welcome in the oval office, its president will fall and eventually, the people will fall. When counsel isn’t sought for in a home, its parents will fall and eventually, the children will fall. No one person has all of the answers. One person may have most of the answers but no one person has all of the answers.
When mankind was made, he was designed with intelligence, curiosity and the ability to solve problems but he was not given omniscience. In fact, the Scriptures clearly infer intentionally designed deficiencies when God said out loud, “it is not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). On his own, he was missing something. By himself, he was lacking something. Surely, companionship was that primary “something” but it was not the only “something” that was missing. He was also missing perspective. He couldn’t see the world as Eve saw it nor could Eve see it the way Adam saw it. To this day, men see the world through blue lenses and women see the world through pink lenses, generally-speaking. God has designed man with both the ability and the desire to learn but He more importantly, designed man with the need to learn. Without a man’s perspective, a woman is not seeing life from all angles. Without a woman’s perspective, a man is not seeing life from all angles. God designed us to lack a perspective and ultimately, to need another perspective. This would cultivate companionship and ultimately, cultivate dependence on one another. This is why it takes a man AND a woman to create a life – so that each child would ideally have both perspectives in his upbringing.
In referencing Creation in our commentary on this proverb, I am not suggesting that Solomon is teaching his son that he needed a woman’s counsel to succeed or that a woman needed a man’s counsel to succeed. In referencing our Maker’s design for humanity, I am simply pointing out that we are intentionally deficient in our perspective. By Divine Design, we lack understanding at birth. Learning is more than gaining knowledge; it is gaining perspective. Our eyes can only see so much. Our minds can only process so much. We are all limited in our understanding and in our perspective. It is precisely for this reason that we need one another. It was our Maker’s intention that we would learn and that we would learn from one another. It was our Maker’s intention that we saw COUNSEL as our path to knowledge and understanding. If a child was to learn, he would have to do so with the help of his parents. If a child was to learn the most, he would have to do so with the help of his very different parents. If a child was to continue to learn, he would have to do so with the help of his teachers, elders and even his friends.
God wants us to see COUNSEL as valuable and necessary so that we would never become independent. Independence is the precursor of pride. God hates pride and the last thing He wanted to do was to create a being that was inclined towards pride. A perspective deficiency would be the cure to independence and pride. Nothing humbles a boy better than his mother finding a sock in minutes after he spent hours looking for it. Nothing humbles a man better than his wife finding the tool in minutes after he spent hours looking for it. Women see the world differently than men do. Women see some things from a better angle. Men see some things from a better angle. We’re wired to see some things better than each other in order for us to learn that we’re lacking and that we need to rely on the insight and perspective of others.
Not only do men see things differently as women, but men see things differently than other men and women see things differently than other women. There are a million variations of personalities and perspective. No one person has all of the answers and no two people see the same thing. Just as we all range in height, we all see the same thing from different heights. Just as we all range in vision, we all see the same thing with varying levels of clarity. Just as we all experience different emotions, we all see the same thing with different conclusions. Some fans see hope in a loss while others see despair. Some people see opportunity in a new job while others see obligation.
God designed us to be different and He designed us to be deficient.
Without the input of others, we’re without the details necessary to see the whole picture. Counsel is like a puzzle piece. Without counsel, you don’t have all of the pieces to see the picture properly. Without the puzzle pieces, you can’t make sense of life and if you can’t make sense of it, you certainly won’t be successful in it. On the contrary, with a “multitude” of puzzle pieces, you’re more likely to see the big picture and when you can see the big picture, you’re more likely to make sense of life and be successful. An independent spirit, or a person who sees counsel as unnecessary, will be a proud person and pride always results in a FALL. A person dependent on godly counsel will be a person who enjoys safety.
God wants us to see Counsel as critical to our success. He wants us to see that “it is not good that a man should be alone” and that there is danger in being a lone ranger. The best spouses, parents, pastors and leaders are those who seek counsel. The people who seek counsel and ultimately, apply that counsel are the ones who make it safely through life while the ones who see counsel as a sign of weakness are the ones that fall short in life. If you think you have all of the answers, get good insurance because you’re going get hurt.
Posted in Proverbs Commentary
Tagged with counsel, advice, King, Prince, leadership, family, Genesis, marriage, Men, Women, Perspective, Insight, Independence, pride, Humility
Tagged with counsel, advice, King, Prince, leadership, family, Genesis, marriage, Men, Women, Perspective, Insight, Independence, pride, Humility
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