Giving Counsel to Others

So today I was able to meditate on 2 Samuel 14. Basically in this chapter king David brought back his son Absalom from Geshur with the counsel of Joab the son of Zeruiah. Absalom had run away to Geshur in the previous chapter after he had murdered his brother Amnon because Amnon had taken advantage of Absalom's sister Tamar. Yeah, lots of drama. For those who don't read the Bible...you have no idea how much you are missing. But anyways, the person I want to focus on is Joab. Joab was a really clever man. He was clever enough to get away with multiple murders and he was clever enough to make a sound argument of why king David should bring back his son Absalom. But being clever can often make you give lousy advice to others because you think you know everything when you don't(not to mention the fact that if you are ambitious you will do things for the wrong reasons). So my conclusion is this: seek first God's counsel so that you make counsel others wisely. NEVER go ahead and give your own personal advice thinking that you are right to do so. I find that I do this a lot. Yet, I know that more than one of them have been faulty in some way because I am not God. I love Isaiah 55:8-9 because it says:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."

God knows and sees so much more than I do...so why would I ever counsel or give advice to another person without seeking Him first. More and more I'm realizing how much influence I can have in the people that surround me, but with power like this comes great responsibility (...where did I hear this before...). Something that happened in the morning made me laugh and confirm what I'm saying now. So when I was going to give the daily morning message on this passage, 2 Samuel 14, for some reason I could not remember where I left my Bible. I kept looking everywhere only to find out that it was right in front of me all along. Yeah, it might have been because I was still half asleep (it was 5:30AM), but it still showed me that I am often blind to what is before me. So what is my conclusion: I should not give counsel or advice to people around me without seeking first the counsel of my Heavenly Father. Thanks to Jesus I can do this. ;o>