The Folly of the Lone Ranger Christian Text: Proverbs 15:22
Introduction: The Autonomous Self as Idol
We live in an age that worships at the altar of the autonomous self. The high priests of our culture, from the movie screen to the university lecture hall, preach one constant gospel: follow your heart, trust your gut, define your own truth. The modern hero is the trailblazer, the rugged individualist who listens to no one and answers to nothing but the whisper of his own desires. He is a committee of one. This is presented as the pinnacle of human freedom, but it is, in fact, the very definition of a fool according to the book of Proverbs. The world says, "Look within." God says, "Look up, and look around."
This idolatry of the self has thoroughly infected the church. We have Christians who treat the body of Christ like a buffet, picking and choosing what they like, with no sense of obligation, submission, or accountability. They want a personal Savior, but not a corporate body. They want Jesus as a consultant, but not as a Lord who has established lines of authority and wisdom within His covenant community. The idea of submitting a major life decision, a business plan, a courtship, a career change, to the prayerful scrutiny of godly counselors strikes the modern evangelical as intrusive, unnecessary, and perhaps even a little bit legalistic. We are spiritual lone rangers, riding off into the sunset of our own good intentions.
But the book of Proverbs is intensely practical, and it serves as a bucket of ice water to the face of such romantic foolishness. It does not give us abstract platitudes; it gives us the manufacturer's instructions for how life in God's world actually works. And one of the foundational principles of that world is that wisdom is corporate. It is covenantal. God has not designed us to navigate the minefields of this life alone. To reject counsel is to declare that you are smarter than your Creator, and that is a plan that is guaranteed to be frustrated.
The Text
Without consultation, plans are frustrated,
But with many counselors they succeed.
(Proverbs 15:22 LSB)
The Blueprint for Frustration (v. 22a)
The first clause of this proverb gives us a direct, cause-and-effect diagnosis for why so many of our grand designs end in a heap of rubble.
"Without consultation, plans are frustrated..." (Proverbs 15:22a)
The word for "consultation" here carries the idea of a secret council, an intimate deliberation. The word for "plans" refers to our purposes, our designs, our deeply held intentions. And the word "frustrated" means they are broken, foiled, brought to nothing. This is a divine law, as fixed as the law of gravity. If you step off a cliff, you will fall. If you proceed without counsel, your plans will fall apart.
Why is this? First, it is a matter of profound arrogance. The man who refuses counsel is operating on the baseline assumption that he possesses all the necessary information, all the required foresight, and a complete, unbiased understanding of his own motives and weaknesses. This is the very essence of pride. It is to play God. The fool's way is always right in his own eyes (Proverbs 12:15). He is his own supreme court, and he always finds in his own favor. But God opposes the proud. Is it any wonder, then, that the plans of the proud are frustrated? God Himself will see to it. He will personally take a hand in dismantling the projects of the man who thinks he needs no help.
Second, it is a matter of practical blindness. We all have blind spots. We are all emotionally invested in our own plans, and that investment clouds our judgment. We are prone to wishful thinking, to underestimating risks, and to ignoring inconvenient facts that don't fit our desired narrative. A wise counselor is a second set of eyes, standing outside the emotional fog, who can see the gaping hole in the road that we are about to drive into at full speed. He is not invested in our ego; he is invested in our well-being. To refuse that second set of eyes is to choose to walk blindfolded toward a cliff.
Think of Rehoboam, Solomon's son. He had a plan to consolidate his power. The old, wise counselors gave him sound advice: lighten the people's load, and they will serve you forever. But Rehoboam consulted his own heart, and then sought confirmation from the young hotheads he grew up with. He rejected the counsel of the wise, and his plan was not just frustrated; it was shattered. The kingdom was torn in two (1 Kings 12). This is not just a sad story; it is a paradigm. Lone-wolf planning leads to frustrated purposes.
The Architecture of Success (v. 22b)
The second clause provides the positive alternative. It is the divine prescription for seeing our plans established and brought to fruition.
"...But with many counselors they succeed." (Proverbs 15:22b)
The contrast is stark. The path of frustration is solitary. The path of success is crowded. The word "many" is key. This is not about finding one buddy who will rubber-stamp your idea. This is about establishing a culture of counsel in your life. The word for "succeed" here means to be established, to be confirmed, to stand firm. God's design is that our plans gain stability and strength as they are submitted to the wisdom of a multitude.
Now, this does not mean wisdom by democracy. You don't just poll everyone you know. The value is not in the sheer number of opinions, but in the multitude of counselors. A counselor is not just any person with an opinion. The Bible has a high view of what makes a true counselor. They must be people who fear the Lord, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). They must be people who know and submit to the Word of God, for if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them (Isaiah 8:20). They should be people of proven character and experience. You don't ask a bankrupt man for financial advice, and you don't ask a man who has made a shipwreck of his family how to raise your children.
Seeking a multitude of such counselors does several things. It forces us into humility, which is the prerequisite for receiving grace from God. It protects us from our own blind spots, as different counselors will see different angles and potential pitfalls. One may see the financial risk, another the relational strain, and another the spiritual danger. It provides confirmation. When multiple, independent, godly sources are all pointing in the same direction, you can proceed with a far greater degree of confidence that you are in the will of God, and not just in the grip of your own ambition.
This principle applies everywhere. In the church, elders are to rule corporately, not as lone pastors. In a marriage, a husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church, and that love includes listening to her counsel, for she is his chief counselor. In business, in parenting, in all of life, God has structured reality such that our solitary schemes are fragile, but our submitted plans are made firm.
Counsel and the Gospel
This proverb is not simply good, practical advice for a successful life. Like all of Proverbs, it points us beyond itself to the ultimate wisdom of God found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The entire plan of redemption is a story of divine counsel.
The Trinity, the ultimate "multitude of counselors," existed in perfect deliberation from all eternity. The plan of salvation was not a frantic improvisation; it was the eternal counsel of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father planned, the Son executed, and the Spirit applied. It is the perfect, unfrustratable plan, established in the council of the Godhead before the foundation of the world.
Furthermore, Jesus Christ Himself is given the name "Wonderful Counselor" (Isaiah 9:6). He is the very wisdom of God incarnate. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him (Colossians 2:3). When we come to Christ, we are submitting our frustrated, fallen, solitary plans to the Wonderful Counselor. We are admitting that our way is right in our own eyes, and that it leads to death. We are exchanging our foolishness for His wisdom.
And what does this Counselor do? He does not leave us alone. He baptizes us by His Spirit into a body, the church. He gives us pastors and elders, who are to provide counsel. He gives us brothers and sisters in the faith, who are to admonish one another, encourage one another, and bear one another's burdens. The Christian life is a counseled life. To be a Christian is to be done with the folly of the lone ranger. It is to be joyfully submitted to the counsel of the Wonderful Counselor, and to the delegated counsel He has established in His covenant community.
So, do not despise this gift. Do not be the arrogant fool who thinks he knows best. When you have a decision to make, do you pray? Do you search the Scriptures? And then, do you submit your thinking to the godly men and women God has placed in your life? Do you go to your elders? Do you talk with your spouse? Do you seek the wisdom of older saints? If you do not, then do not be surprised when your plans are frustrated. But if you do, you can have confidence that you are walking on the path of wisdom, and that your plans, established in the fear of the Lord and in the multitude of counselors, will succeed for His glory.