The answer for me has always been a resounding, “Yes.” As I look at the men and women who I hope to grow up to be like—the ones who are finishing well, who have stayed the course—I notice that each of them has followed the narrow road of wisdom throughout their life. This doesn’t mean they haven’t each wandered away at times, or taken shortcuts that ended up being dead ends. But in general, they have followed the road of applying truth by trusting truth. In other words, they have followed the road of wisdom.
As I look back at my last decade of life, and look ahead to the next one, I deeply desire wisdom. I see the Lord affirming this in scripture:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5
“For wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.” Proverbs 8:11
One of my biggest learnings in my 30’s has been a cheat code for wisdom: asking those that are ahead on the journey for wisdom and direction.
No matter how unique your circumstances, there are people that have walked ahead of you. They have learned lessons that can benefit you. So, find men and women ahead of you in wisdom and experience in various areas of life, pursue wisdom by asking them questions, and then trust their counsel by acting on it. It won’t always be the right direction or advice, but batting 900 is still going to be way better than the alternative of learning through your own limited intuition.
This has been the best cheat code of my last 10 years. Decisions on my personal faith journey, marriage, parenting, business, investment, and ministry, were exponentially more successful because of the guidance and wisdom of people ahead of me. They had so much to offer that they wished they would have known at my age. How could I not take advantage of that?
When I wasn’t sure of what certain spiritual gifts could look like in my faith journey, I sought counsel from Bill, Larry, and John. When I wasn’t clear about the wisdom of a real estate decision, I reached out to Scott and Greg and Rob. When I wasn’t sure what to do organizationally, I called Benj and Chris. When I had theological questions, I called Bruce and Bill. When it came to prayer, I called Scott and Lindy. When I had big family parenting questions, I called David or Elizabeth. When I was at a major career transition and felt in over my head, I asked Dennis, Dennis, and Regi to come over for dinner and help me prayerfully discern whether I should make a major life change.
At one point, when deciding about a significant personal family decision, my wife Emily simply said, “Well what did Dennis and Regi say?” She had seen how the input of these men had blessed our lives, and knew their wisdom was worth trusting and acting on.
This is the number one way I have found to cheat in life and find the narrow path of wisdom:
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