All of us have regret. I suppose all of us have asked ourselves, “How could I have been so foolish?”

We say things like, “How did I miss that? I should have seen it coming.”

We wonder how we could have been so unwise. If you should have seen it coming, chances are good that someone else probably did. So what went wrong? Either they didn’t speak up and warn you, or if they did, you didn’t listen.

Do the people closest to you have the freedom to speak into your life? Outside voices can help us see things from a new perspective if we will allow them.

Nobody wants to get to the next season of their life and look back and wonder how you could have been so foolish. Nobody wants to look back and see broken relationships, bad financial decisions, poor career choices or unfortunate parenting decisions. One of the ways to avoid these things is to be open to the input of the people who have our best interests in mind.

If you want to make wise decisions, live with fewer regrets, live with less tears, avoid wasting more money, a wise person must learn to listen. Wise people press the pause button when they realize they are mad, emotionally upset or in need of some advice.

A wise person learns to recognize when they are in no condition to decide for themselves by themselves. When you don’t know what to do, the wise thing to do is listen to someone who does.

God gave King Solomon the gift of wisdom. He possessed extraordinary wisdom unlike anything anyone had ever witnessed before. And what’s so amazing is the fact that the wisest man in the world wrote more about seeking counseling than any other ancient writer. The person, who needed counsel the least, wrote about seeking it the most.

Here are just a few of the things he had to say: “Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.” (Proverbs 9:9) “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel …” (Proverbs 1:5) “A wise man is he who listens to counsel.” (Proverbs 12:15).

If you are wise, you will invite key people into the decision-making processes in your life, and you will learn to listen to what they have to say. You will be glad that you did.

Read Steve Greene’s blog at pastorgreene.wordpress.com or email him at [email protected].