15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.
18 Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war.
A fifth consideration to be factored in as to the choice of vocation is the advice, the counsel of others—those others who know you; those others who have experience and a track record in the vocations you are considering.
Proverbs 11:14 reads:
Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in an abundance of counselors there is victory.Proverbs 12:15 says,The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.Proverbs 15:22:Without consultation plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed.Proverbs 20:18:Prepare plans by consultation and make war by wise guidance.The mind of those contemplating a calling ought to be open to and those minds ought to be solicitors of the counsel of faithful men and women, beginning with their parents and going on to those who are presently engaged in the very vocations you are considering. They better than others know the nature, the demands, the rewards of a given vocation. They know what it takes to make it. They know what the perils are; what the pitfalls are. The matter of advisability means availing yourselves of their counsel.
Further, others may be able more accurately to perceive one’s own particular endowments. You do not see them perhaps; your parents do. You do not see them perhaps; others in your church do. Others may see your own God‑given endowments and aptitudes, and can bring an objectivity to such an evaluation that you cannot. It would be a proud, foolish, and hasty person, who launched out into a field of gainful endeavour, without having sought the counsel of other faithful wise and older people.1
George McDearmon
14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.