Proverbs 11:14, Two Heads are Better than One – Mostly!
May 12, Proverbs 11:14
Acts 15; 6-31; 16:5 “So were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily”
Two Heads are Better than One – Mostly!
This word counsel (always plural) comes from a root meaning to bind with ropes, then, rope-pulling, then guidance. It is a nautical term and refers to the rope-pulling that steers or guides a ship. It also gave rise to the word shipmaster, steersman, pilot in Jonah (1:6, cf. Rev. 18:17). Now, since counsel is double-edged, being either good or bad, how careful we must be in the counsel we seek and accept. So also this word has a double-edged meaning, namely, to wound, to sabotage, to ruin, leading to pain and suffering (shall be destroyed, Pr. 13:13; destroys, a destruction painful, i.e., sickening, Mic. 2:10)!
1. In the Storm! A nation is like a Ship of State that founders or sails on as it rejects or follows good counsel (Pr. 1:5, 20:18, 24:6). Often this has been verified, in the rise and fall of empires. In these proverbs, it is military action that is foremost. There is a want of wise counsel. The problem may be a self-willed, head-strong ruler who glories in his own power, be he King, President or Prime Minister. He refuses to consult others, and if he does consult, it is only to throw out their advice as inferior to his own. The greatest tragedy of all is that those who run the Ship no longer consult God. Is a Senate prayer merely an empty tradition? May God deliver us from such weak, spiritually blind counsellors. Crowns and thrones may perish; Kingdoms rise and wane, but in the storms, how will they remain? “The nation, therefore, without [godly] counsellors is like a ship in the midst of rocks without a pilot, in immanent peril” (Bridges).
2. On the Rocks! Without counsel, the people fall. In the days of the Judges (21:25), there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes. The result was anarchy, and the people falling before their enemies. This proverb applies equally to all occasions when we, too, make life-decisions about college, career, jobs, marriage, an operation, a business venture. To rush into any of these without seeking wise counsel may prove disastrous for us too. True, one can have too much conflicting advice, which leads to shipwreck (12:5, Jer. 38), but one must not shut out disquieting voices either. There is the danger of rejecting or resenting advice when it is unpleasant or unacceptable because it runs counter to what we have already determined to do. “Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.” What a thought!
3. By the Star! We all need advice, but when in doubt, bring it to the test of God’s Word (Isa. 8:20). Reliance on help from above is the best counsel. We might reword 14b: but salvation is in a great counsellor! There is only One such Counsellor, and one such Salvation (Isa. 9:6; 46:13, Jer. 6:23)! Christ is the Day Star to guide your heart (2 Pet. 1:19; Rev.2 2:16). To every young person, let me make this heartfelt appeal to you. If you have godly, caring parents, don’t turn your back on them and reject their advice. Do yourself the greatest favor. Thank God for them, and ask for grace to follow their Star of Hope. There’s a Star to guide the humble; trust in God and do the right!
Thought: “Nothing is right for Christians, fit is not God’s will for them.”
Prayer: Lord, fill me with “the spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”