I was speaking with a close friend of mine a few weeks ago about a situation she was facing. She's an older woman who recently retired and wanted to attend Bible college. The problem was that the particular school she wnated to attend was chariging almost $1000 per credit. She considered taking out a loan in order to attend. She was conflicted regardign what she shoudl do. To go or not to go; that is the question. She spoke to a few Christians about this issue and they gave her some advice. What was the typical advice? Pray and God will give you the answer.
This is only partially good advice. Of course believers should pray always and especially while facing a major decision. However, no one offered her anything more than this. Where were the words of wisdom? Where were the words of guidance? They were nowhere to be found.
When her and I spoke, I told her plainly and flat out, "Don't do it." She would have spent thousands of dollars for a degree that is useless in the world of invbestment. She wanted the degree so she could work more in youth ministry. I told her she didn't need a degree to work with youth, which she doesn't. If she was seeking to understand Scripture more, she could simply read more Christian theology books or she could even apply to an unaccreditted school and learn there.
After I gave her my advice, she decided she wouldn't go thousands of dollars in debt for the school. She thanked me and was grateful that I gave her my input. She lamented how other Christians simply didn't offer any real guidance. All they said was to pray.
Unfortunately, this is very common among believers. Because many follow their emotions and wrongly attribute them to the Holy Spirit, they make decisions based almost entirely on how they feel. This is a disastrous way to make decisions. Believers need wisdom during the decision making process. We need sound counsel from those with insight and wisdom.
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