Scripture Daily

Context No. 1519 of 4322 · Sirach

Context · Reflection

Sirach 32:17-24: in context

17A sinful man shuns reproof, and will find a judgment according to his will. 18A sensible person won’t neglect a thought. An insolent and proud man won’t crouch in fear, even after he has done a thing by himself without counsel. 19Do nothing without counsel, but when you have acted, don’t regret it. 20Don’t go in a way of conflict. Don’t stumble in stony places. 21Don’t be overconfident on a smooth road. 22Beware of your own children. 23In every work guard your own soul, for this is the keeping of the commandments. 24He who believes the law gives heed to the commandment. He who trusts in the Lord will suffer no loss.

Ben Sira offers practical wisdom for acting well. A sinful man shuns reproof, he observes, and the proud man acts without taking counsel, then regrets it. Do nothing without counsel, he advises, but once you have acted on good advice, do not second-guess it. Do not go on a dangerous road or stumble over stony ground; do not be overconfident on a smooth path. In everything you do, guard your soul, for this is the keeping of the commandments; and the one who trusts in the Lord will suffer no loss.

The counsel to hold is simple and often ignored: do nothing without counsel. Ben Sira sets the person who seeks advice against the proud and rash one who acts alone on his own judgment and then regrets it. There is a humility in seeking counsel that the proud lack; the arrogant assume they can see the whole matter clearly by themselves and need no one's help, and they act, and often come to grief. The wise know that their own view is partial, that they have blind spots, that another's perspective may see what they cannot; and so they seek counsel before deciding, especially in weighty matters. This is not indecision or an inability to act; Ben Sira also says that once you have acted on good counsel, do not keep second-guessing it. The point is the humility to consult before deciding, rather than the pride that trusts only itself. We are often reluctant to seek advice, whether from pride that does not want to admit we need help, or from a hurry that does not want to slow down and ask. But the person who takes counsel before acting is far less likely to end in regret than the one who charged ahead alone. Guard your soul in all you do, Ben Sira says, and part of that guarding is the humility to seek wise counsel rather than trusting your own judgment alone. Do nothing without counsel, and you will regret far less of what you do.

Do I seek wise counsel before acting on weighty matters, or do I, in pride or hurry, trust my own judgment alone and then regret it, and am I humble enough to admit that my own view is partial and another may see what I cannot?

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