When We Ignore Wise Advice

                     “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.”

Proverbs 12:15 (NIV)   

   The temptation was too great, and I just had to try it. The reel on Instagram showed the “before” and “after” of using an undereye skin tightener. “You aren’t going to believe your eyes!” it promised. “Bags gone in 30 seconds!” it continued. The woman applying the tightener expressed surprise that it worked as well as it did! ”I wish I had bought more than one tube,” she smiled. I was hooked.

I glanced at the comments section from those who had bought and used the product. “Doesn’t work like it says. It’s a scam. Wasted my money. Don’t buy this - you will regret it!” they advised. But somehow I convinced myself that the product was real. Was it overpriced? Yes. But was it worth it if it worked? Absolutely. Fifteen minutes later, my credit card debt increased by $70.00. And so did my anticipation!

Every day I waited for the skin tightener to appear in my mailbox and I never gave another thought to the advice of those who had bought it before me.  When it arrived, I opened the package, quickly put some of the skin tightener under my eyes, and waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing happened. No tightening. No disappearance of eye bags. Nothing. And I realized it WAS a scam. An expensive scam. 

   Was I warned? Yes, several times from people who had bought the product. But did I listen? No, not at all. Why in the world not? First, I think that I wanted to find an easy way to improve how I looked so I jumped at what was offered without doing some thorough investigating. Secondly, I didn’t heed the warnings in the comments because I believed I knew better than the people who had actually bought the product and tried to use it. 

    And as I looked at the worthless cream and my credit card bill, a Scripture came to mind. Proverbs 12:15 says “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” A fool? Yes, that’s me. If I had been wise, I would have taken seriously the advice from the people who had used the product. Then something else occurred to me: this Scripture applies to more than an eye cream scam. It applies to our lives as Christians.

How many times have we made important life decisions based on OUR wisdom instead of praying, reading the Word, and consulting a strong Christian to give us wise advice and counsel? Maybe it’s about marriage issues, a prodigal child, or living with anger and unforgiveness. We all need guidance at some time in our lives to speak truth to us that is grounded in God’s Word. Jesus has the answer to every question and issue we face. 

So for me, it’s time to stop being a fool, as King Solomon wrote in Proverbs. I have decided that with the big - and sometimes small - decisions I make each day, I will pray, read the Word and, if necessary, seek wise Christian counsel.  Oh, and after 8 weeks of emails back and forth, I was able to get a refund on the scam undereye skin tightener. But best of all, I also learned an even more important lesson: never ignore wise advice. 

   

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

• Have you ever decided against the advice you sought from wise counsel?

• What was the result of your decision? 

Apply

• Journal decisions that you have been considering recently.

• Beside each one, consider if wise counsel is needed and if so, consult with a Christian friend to listen to you, pray, and advise. Then listen to the advice and pray. 

Power

• Proverbs 12:15 (NIV)  “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.”

• Proverbs 5:7 (NIV) “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.”

• Proverbs 14:15 (NIV) “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.”