Here Is Reliable Guidance to Avoid Bad Advice
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Advice isn’t always free
When you need some advice, where do you turn? I realize you can learn just about anything online. But everything you see on the internet is not trustworthy.
Unsolicited advice is cheap and plentiful. Just like opinions, everybody seems to have advice to give about—life, diet, exercise, business, politics, religion… you name it.
Equating advice with wisdom would be an oxymoron. Not all advice is wise. Go to a racetrack and ask for tips on which horse to bet on. You will get plenty of advice, but most of it is useless or worse.
This is true for many other scenarios in life. And yet, people keep handing out free advice that others try to follow. I suppose some of the advice may be useful, but I wouldn’t count on it.
So, how can anyone be sure of any advice? Of course, it’s important to consider the source of the advice. Is the person trustworthy? Does the one giving advice follow it themselves?
GIGO—Garbage In, Garbage Out. They coined this term in the late 50s as computers began to make their impact on mathematics, science, and business. Simply put, sloppy input produces unreliable output.
Just because a computer spits out calculated information, no one should blindly accept its output as true. Just look at political polls and election projections and how skewed or far off they can be.
If the data input is incorrect, the output will also be incorrect. If the program calculating or analyzing the data is flawed or susceptible to glitches, then the output shouldn’t be trusted.
The only way to avoid bad advice is to be discerning enough to know the difference between what’s good or bad or questionable advice. The origin of the advice is important. Where is it drawn from and who is giving it?
Here is some reliable, direct advice from a very wise man.
Scripture
Listen to advice and accept discipline so that you may be wise the rest of your life.
Many plans are in the human heart,
but the advice of the Lord will endure.
The fear of the Lord leads to life,
and such a person will rest easy without suffering harm.
If you stop listening to instruction, my son,
you will stray from the words of knowledge. (Proverbs 19:20-21, 23, 27 GW)
(Context—Proverbs 19:15-29 GW)
Simple insights
As I’ve explained before, Solomon often expresses his wisdom as guidance from a father to a son. Solomon, the primary author, sees God as the father, and Bible narratives provide scores of life examples of sons to learn from—both good and bad.
Here is reliable guidance for avoiding bad advice drawn from these 4 selected verses—
Verse 20 — Two things are recommended to gain lifelong wisdom—listen to good advice and make a continuing commitment to apply it in daily life.
Verse 21 — Others may have advice to offer and our own heart will generate plenty of plans and ideas, but only advice that originates from the Lord will last.
Verse 23 — Good, reliable advice is grounded in a genuine awe and respect for the Lord. The fear of God leads to life because of the confident trust we have in Him.
Verse 27 — Commitment and discipline to the truth of God are essential for us to maintain the discernment needed to avoid listening to bad advice and holding to good, reliable guidance for our life.
As I said earlier, this is straightforward advice from someone considered the wisest man in ancient times. It isn’t complicated, but it requires effort on our part to follow it. This can be difficult with all the unsolicited advice coming at us, but it is simple and reliable.
Reflection—
Avoiding bad advice requires discernment to know the difference between what’s good or bad or questionable. When you listen to good, reliable advice and commit yourself to following it, you can gain a life guided by sound wisdom.
Prayer Focus—
Ask God for discernment to help you know what is good advice to follow. Pray for God’s guidance and wisdom daily and for an understanding of what you read in the Bible.
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