November 5, 2026

Business by the Book

Proverbs 20:18 Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.

Three times in my life I have faced an unforeseen life-changing decision. We all have. With every ring of the phone our lives could be thrown into chaos. “What do I do?” is a common refrain from those in the midst of life’s battles. Our verse today tells us what to do. Get counsel, find some good advice.

To do this will cost something. Time, money, pride, patience, and other valuable costs are associated with getting counsel and advice. Some of those to whom you go will give you a poor return on your investment associated with getting counsel and advice. Your time may be wasted, your consultation fee may be seen as a loss, your patience tried and your pride bruised, but even bad counsel and advice pushes you toward the proper counsel and advice. If you are wise enough to know the difference.

Many think that obtaining counsel and advice is a waste. It’s not! It is valuable. Hearing obviously wrong counsel or advice is like finding another way not to do something. I believe it was Thomas Edison who failed many times in the effort of inventing the incandescent light bulb. I think I heard once that he failed in over 700 experiments. In this process someone asked him, “Are you discouraged by so many failures?”  He replied, “I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”  Finding out why something won’t work pushes toward finding a way that will work.

Scripture reminds over and over again to seek wise counsel and good advice. Together the words counsel and advice, and their derivatives, are used 146 times in God’s Word. The next time you face unforeseen life changing events that demand a decision, seek to establish your purposes by wise counsel, and fight if needed through the strategies derived from good advice.

Until tomorrow, carry on your Business by the Book today, 

Dr. William Howe