My dear readers,

Proverbs 11:14 “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellers there is safety.”

No one in their right mind wants to fall. But we all have fallen many times, as children learning to walk and run, or even as adults when we make mistakes and “fall” on our faces, to our shame. The “fall” for adults is usually figurative, not literal. But this fall is more dire because it occurs in the context of adult responsibilities. Our lives are intertwined with others at home, at work, and in church. We can drag other people down with us when we fall. Imagine a CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company falling from grace and losing his business. The livelihoods of all his employees and their families are negatively affected. They have to look for new jobs. While waiting, they worry if they will ever find a job before their savings run out. If one foolish decision of a CEO can have such an impact, how much more when it is the fall of a leader of a country?

God sent His prophets to rebuke the kings of Israel and Judah for generations because they fell into sin. Yet they refused to repent of their idolatrous practices until the exile, where tens of thousands of Israelites and Jews died at the hands of the Assyrians and Babylonians, respectively, and the Promised Land was ravaged. The destruction ended Israel’s sovereignty and monarchy permanently.

The fall was great and final!

The Christian church has replaced the nation of Israel as God's people for the past two thousand years. When the church falls, the world will plunge into spiritual darkness, i.e. without the light of Christ. When a believer falls, everyone in his life will be negatively impacted as the name of Christ will be shamed. Sinners can be so badly stumbled that it may cause them to reject Christ forever, and they will use this grievous hurt as their perpetual excuse. Believers might be deeply stung that a mature believer they looked up to for their spiritual growth could fall from such a high spiritual place, crushing their desire for spiritual growth.

Christians cannot afford to fall!

The literal translation of Proverbs 11:14  is, “Where no wise counsel is, the people fall: but safety is in the multitude of counsellors.”

• Listen more – Those who make decisions all the time, especially leaders in homes, ministries and churches, must listen more. No man is blessed with all the spiritual gifts, not even Apostles Peter and Paul. All leaders need co-labourers to serve together in decision-making. Thank God for the Presbyterian system of church governance given by God to His church. The most mature and godly men are appointed to care for the spiritual well-being of God’s people. Their qualifications are the highest in all of Holy Scriptures. The leadership qualifications for godly-family witness in the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were basically about salvation by grace. The qualifications for a godly king in Israel included not multiplying horses, gold, or wives, as these would turn him into a carnal king. He also had to copy the Holy Scriptures so that he would know how to rule God’s people biblically.

However, in the case of the church witness, God’s spiritual requirements are of the highest order that only truly born-again believers can possess. No area of the leader’s life is excluded from the list of qualifications. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) 6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

When such a group of godly leaders leads the church, the church will grow, and God will surely bless. They must pray together and make decisions according to the Bible as they seek God's will, doing God’s work, God’s way. They will not be perfect, but they will not make big mistakes that will ruin God's witness. God will bless the members with healthy spiritual growth. God's people will not be hurt. The spiritual well-being of the whole church in all its ministries will conform to God’s Word. All believers who come to such a church will call the church their home away from home. They are happy in Christ. They love God's people and are loved by God’s people. The best day of the week is the Lord’s day.

Such a God-honouring church is only possible when God’s servants are ready to listen to one another as they share and seek God’s direction for God’s family.

In a Christian home, the father must listen to the mother and the children. He may make the final decision, but he must know that he does not know everything and that he needs his family's contributions, especially his wife, whom God has blessed him with as his help, meet for him.

• Speak more – Those with good knowledge of the Bible need to speak more. To accomplish this task, they need to come out of their safety net and tortoise-like shell and open their lives to others. Knowing the right biblical way and not sharing it with others is a sin. Such silence in the face of wrongdoing will hurt all parties. It will hurt the one who executes a wrongful decision. It will hurt the one who keeps silent when he knows what is right and says nothing. The blood of the wrong decision executer will be on his head.

Godly counsel is always wise counsel. When leaders make decisions, and many decisions have to be made because they are time sensitive, and they make them based on their worldly wisdom, the people of God will definitely fall. When God’s people fall, the witness of Christ is marred. God’s people will live in sin. God will punish them. Sinners will be stumbled. Years of building a godly witness will come tumbling down, and will probably never be rebuilt again. Sinners will die in sin and end up in hell!

In the context of church witness, many local churches have died due to leadership failure. Carnal leaders made self-serving decisions that fulfilled personal lusts and agendas. God’s people were hurt, and these leaders did not care. They cared only that their “rice bowl” was not affected. The members were viewed as their prey, whom they must sweet-talk to remain, especially the wealthy ones. These wealthy ones were promoted to leadership, for the pastor deduced that once they had tasted such positions of power, they would not let go, like a drug addict. The leader would surround himself with “yes” men to do his bidding. Such is the spiritual failure when wise counsel is absent. All who attend such churches that “play church” will die spiritually.

Those who understand God's Word well must offer counsel so that God’s people will not fall. In this way, with many wise counsellors, God's people will not fall but stand and live for Christ in holiness and righteousness, according to the Bible.

This is also applicable to every Christian home. The husband makes the final decision, but the wife must also know the Scriptures and provide wise counsel, as all God-appointed “helpmeet” must do. If the husband is wise and not prideful, he will listen before he decides. In this way, the family will not fall.

Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service

Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew, Pastor