Considering the Needs of the People Affected by Your Decision
A decision can look different when we hear from someone who will live with its effects. Wise counsel helps us notice what our own first view may have missed.
Plans fail for lack of counsel,
(Proverbs 15:22, NIV, excerpt)
Proverbs commends seeking advice, weighing answers, and receiving correction. These sayings place thoughtful decisions within a life of humility and reverence for the Lord. Counsel is part of taking a plan and its consequences seriously.
Invite the perspective you may be missing
Before settling a shared decision, name the people it will affect. Consider whose practical knowledge or needs should be heard.
Ask a clear question: “What should I understand before we decide?” Give the answer room, especially when it complicates the option you prefer.
Seek advice from people with relevant experience and trustworthy judgment. Compare their suggestions with Scripture’s call to honesty, love, and responsible care.
Pray for humility to adjust your plan where needed. Then communicate the decision and its reasons clearly. In following Jesus, attention to other people can become part of how we use responsibility well.
A prayer
Father, give me humility to receive wise counsel. Help me hear the people affected by my decisions and attend to what I have overlooked. Through Jesus, guide me toward truthful, responsible choices that care well for others. Amen.
Read Proverbs 15:22-33 in the NIV.
Keep reading: Learning to Ask a Better Question · Psalm 131: Learning the Posture of Humble Trust.
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A wise decision makes room to hear the people it will affect.
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