How to Get Good Advice

1. Wetin can help us to make good decisions and for our plans to work? (Proverbs 13:10; 15:22)

ALL of us want make good decisions and we want for our plans to work. The Bible tell us thing dem we can do for our decision and plan to work.—Read Proverbs 13:10; 15:22.

2. Wetin Jehovah promise to do for us?

² The best person we can go to for wisdom and advice that our Pa, Jehovah. He promise to help us. He say: “I will give you advice with my eye upon you.” (Ps. 32:8) This one help us to see that Jehovah can’t just give us advice, but he get interest in us and he can help us to apply his advice.a

3. What four question dem we will answer in this article?

³ In this article, we will use the Bible to answer four question dem: (1) What quality dem I must get if I want benefit from good advice? (2) Who I can get good advice from? (3) How I can show that I really want good advice? (4) Why it not good to ask other people to make decisions for me?

WHAT QUALITY DEM I MUST GET?

4. What quality dem we must get if we want benefit from good advice?

⁴ If we want benefit from good advice, we must be humble and know our limit. We must know that sometime, we will not get the experience or know how to make good decision on our own. If we not humble and know our limit, Jehovah will not be able to help us. Because of that, any advice we get will be just like wasting water on duck back. (Mic. 6:8; 1 Pet. 5:5) But when we humble and know our limit, we will be quick to listen to the advice from the Bible and apply it.

5. Wetin wor coming make it easy for David to be proud?

⁵ Let see what we can learn from King David example. The plenty thing dem he do wor coming make it easy for him to be proud. Before they make him king, plenty people use to praise him because he wor good musician. The king even tell David to sing for him. (1 Sam. 16:​18, 19) After Jehovah make David king, Jehovah make him strong by giving him His holy spirit. (1 Sam. 16:​11-13) The people praise him for killing Goliath and their enemy dem. (1 Sam. 17:​37, 50; 18:7) If David wor proud, he wor coming feel that since he na do all this thing dem, no need for him to listen to other people advice. But he not do it.

6. How we know that David listen to advice? (Also see the picture.)

⁶ When David become king, he use to be around men dem who give him good advice. (1 Chron. 27:​32-34) In fact, David get good record when it come to listening to good advice. He not only listen to advice from his friend men dem, but he also take advice from one woman name Abigail. Abigail wor marry to one proud, rude and ungrateful man name Nabal. But David wor humble and listen to her good advice and because of that, he make good decision.—1 Sam. 25:​2, 3, 21-25, 32-34.

7. Wetin we can learn from David example? (Ecclesiastes 4:13) (Also see the pictures.)

⁷ We can learn good-good lessons from David. For example, maybe we able to do certain thing good or we get authority over other people. But, we must not think that we know everything and we not need advice. Like David, we must be willing to listen to good advice, no matter who give it. (Read Ecclesiastes 4:13.) When we do it, we will avoid making big mistakes that can cause problem for us and other people.

WHO I CAN GET GOOD ADVICE FROM?

8. Why Jonathan wor able to give David good advice?

⁸ Let see one more lesson we can learn from David. He listen to people who wor having good friendship with Jehovah and who really understand the problem he wor going through. For example, when he wanted to know whether it wor possible for him to make peace with King Saul, he ask Saul son Jonathan for advice and he listen to the advice. Why Jonathan wor able to give David good advice? That because Jonathan wor having good friendship with Jehovah and he also know his pa, Saul good-good. (1 Sam. 20:​9-13) Wetin this one teach us?

9. Who we must go to for advice? Explain. (Proverbs 13:20)

⁹ To get good advice, we must go to somebody who get good friendship with Jehovah and who understand our situation good-good.b (Read Proverbs 13:20.) For example, suppose one young brother looking for good sister to marry? Who he must go to for good advice? It not bad if he go to his friend who not marry, and his friend give him advice from the Bible. But for the young brother to get more advice about marriage, it will be good for him to talk with marry people who get good friendship with Jehovah, who been happy in their marriage, and who know him good-good.

10. Wetin we coming talk about?

¹⁰ We na talk about two quality dem we must get and who we must go to for good advice. Now we coming talk about how we can show that we really want good advice, and why it not good to ask other people to make decisions for us.

HOW I CAN SHOW THAT I REALLY WANT GOOD ADVICE?

11-12. (a) Sometime, wetin we can do? (b) Wetin King Rehoboam do when he wor having important decision to make?

¹¹ Sometime, it can be looking like somebody want good advice. But to talk the truth, that person na already make their decision and they just looking for somebody to agree with them. This kindna person show that they not really want good advice. This person must learn from what happen to King Rehoboam.

¹² After King Solomon die, Rehoboam became the next king in Israel. When he wor ruling, the city wor really boiling. But the people wor feeling that Solomon use to force them to work hard. So they beg Rehoboam to reduce their work. Rehoboam tell them to give him some time so he can think about it. He start good by asking the older men dem who use to give Solomon advice. (1 Ki. 12:2-7) But he refuse to listen to their advice. Why? Maybe he already decide in his heart what he wanted to do and he wor just looking for somebody to agree with him. So when he went to his friend dem, they agree with him and he listen to their advice. (1 Ki. 12:​8-14) And Rehoboam tell the people just what his friend dem tell him to say. Because of that, it make the nation to divide in two. And from that time, he wor always in trouble.—1 Ki. 12:​16-19.

13. What question we can ask ourself to know whether we really want good advice?

¹³ Wetin we can learn from what Rehoboam do? We must not already make our decision before we ask people for advice. We must be willing to listen to their advice. So ask yourself, ‘When I ask people for advice, I can be quick to not accept it because that not what I want hear? Let see one example.

14. Wetin we must remember when somebody give us advice? Give example. (Also see the picture.)

¹⁴ Think about one brother who find job that will give him plenty money. Before he take the job, he ask one elder for advice. The brother tell the elder that the job will make him to go far from his family for long time. The elder show the brother one Bible advice that remind him that his main responsibility, that to help his family to get good friendship with Jehovah. (Eph. 6:4; 1 Tim. 5:8) But the brother not agree with what the elder say. So he start asking other people in the congregation until he find somebody who tell him what he want hear. You think that brother really looking for good advice, or he na already decide what he will do and just looking for somebody to agree with him? Let remember that our heart can fool us. (Jer. 17:9) Sometime, the advice that we not like, that it can be good for us.

WHY IT NOT GOOD TO ASK OTHER PEOPLE TO MAKE DECISIONS FOR ME?

15. Wetin we must be careful to not do, and why?

¹⁵ Jehovah expect everybody to make their own decisions. (Gal. 6:​4, 5) From what we na already talk about, somebody who wise can always look for advice from the Bible and from mature Christians before making decision. But, we must be careful to not ask other people to make decisions for us. Some people can go to somebody who they respect and ask the person this question, “Wetin you wor coming do if you wor in my shoe?” Other people will not ask the person straight like that, but they will just make the same decision the person make without thinking about it good-good.

16. What kindna situation come up in the congregation in Corinth about meat that wor sacrifice to idols, and who wor having the responsibility to decide whether to eat it or not? (1 Corinthians 8:7; 10:​25, 26)

¹⁶ Think about this one. The Christian dem in Corinth wor having decision to make about meat that wor sacrifice to idols. Paul write to them and say: “We know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no God but one.” (1 Cor. 8:4) Because of that, some people in the congregation decide that they will eat meat from the market, even though it wor sacrifice to idols. Other people say that they will not eat that kindna meat, because it will disturb their conscience. (Read 1 Corinthians 8:7; 10:​25, 26.) This one that wor personal decision. Paul wor not saying that the Christian dem in Corinth must make decision for people, or they must make the same decision that other people make. Each of them wor coming “render an account for himself to God.”—Rom. 14:​10-12.

17. Sometime, wetin can happen if we just make the same decision that other people make? Give example. (Also see the pictures.)

¹⁷ How this same thing can happen today? Let talk about the small-small part of the blood they call blood fractions. All Christian must think on Bible advice to make their own decision whether they will accept it or not.c To talk the truth, it can be hard to understand this topic good-good, but it part of the load that each of us must carry. (Rom. 14:4) If we just decide to make the same decision that other people make, we will be making our conscience weak. The only way we can train our conscience that to use it. (Heb. 5:14) So what time we must ask mature Christian for advice? We must only do it if we already na do our own research but we still need help to understand how Bible advice apply to our situation.

CONTINUE ASKING FOR ADVICE

18. Wetin Jehovah na do for us?

¹⁸ Jehovah na show that he really trust us by allowing us to make our own decisions. He na give us his Word, the Bible. And he na give us friend dem who can help us to understand how to apply Bible advice. He na do what pa can do for their children dem. (Prov. 3:​21-23) How we can tell him thank you?

19. How we can continue to make Jehovah happy?

¹⁹ Think about his one: Parents can really be happy to see their children growing up to be mature Christian who can make good decision. That the same way Jehovah can be happy when he see us trying to ask for advice, make decisions that honor him and continue trying to be mature Christian.