Counsel

"It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening. Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, 'What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?' Moses said to his father-in-law, 'Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.' Moses’ father-in-law said to him, 'The thing that you are doing is not good. You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you.'" -Exodus 18.13-19a

Jethro has come to visit Moses in the wilderness, and he rejoices over everything God has done. He celebrates with them and stays the night. In the morning he observes the structure of the camp. He notices that Moses deals with every issue the people have. He begins early in the morning, and until late in the evening he listens to the disputes of the people. It's a difficult job, but Moses is the leader, and he sees it as his responsibility.

Jethro sees this and knows it's not a good situation. He asks Moses why he does it alone, and Moses tells him it is because they come to him and he judges and teaches them what God requires. In other words, who else would do it? Who else can do it? But Jethro, being older and more experienced, tells him, "This is not good, you're going to wear yourself out. You can't do this alone." And then he offers his counsel, but the important thing is that he leaves the final decision up to Moses. He gives his opinion, but doesn't force it upon Moses. He simply sees a situation and believes he knows a better way to do it.

Men, it is very easy to become narrow minded. We do something a certain way long enough, and eventually we believe it is the only way. It is sometimes good, healthy even, to get an outside opinion, a second set of eyes to look at it unbiased. The question becomes are we willing to listen to counsel? Are we willing to let ourselves be scrutinized and evaluated? It might mean we have to change, and it acknowledges that we don't know everything. Are we big enough men to do that?

Likewise we see some important rules for giving counsel. First, Jethro begins by asking why this thing is done the way that it is. He makes an inquiry to see if this has been well thought out and has a solid reasoning behind it. Second, once he sees that it doesn't he points out the flaw by showing that he has his son-in-law's best interest at heart and wants the best for him. Third, Jethro ultimately leaves the decision up to Moses. Before he even tells him what he's thinking he says "I will give you my counsel, and God be with you." I'll give you my idea, and you do with it what you will.

When we give advice we need to keep this in mind. We need to gather information first, that way we actually know what we're talking about. Then we need to show that we care and that we're not just trying to boost our ego and promote our ideas at any expense. Finally, we need to let the person make their own decisions. This is how you give proper counsel. Is this the way you do it?

At some point in each of our lives we'll need counsel, are we humble enough to receive it? At some point experience will permit us to offer counsel, are we humble enough to offer it biblically?

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor