Remember when God said in Genesis 2:18 that “It is not good for the man to be alone"? Well, He was talking to you! Yeah, you, the one who prefers to be insular and make all the decisions for your life and your business without seeking the wisdom of others.
The Bible teaches in Proverbs 15:22 - Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. As such, the Lord is calling on us believers to seek out Godly wisdom and counsel from others. He will reward us for doing so.
Think of Moses. When he was in the wilderness, he had to govern an entire nation. This often involved sitting as a judge to resolve matters. Jethro, his father-in-law, was troubled by the toll this role took on him. He shared some wisdom saying in Exodus18:21-24 - 21But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”24Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
Moses was doing the right thing - acting as a judge over his people. However, he needed the wisdom of his father-in-law and mentor to become more efficient. Fortunately, he wasn't too proud to receive the advice and put it into practice.
It is crucial as we grow in our businesses to seek out advisers and mentors who will lead us to do things better so that we succeed. It is even more crucial that such advisers and mentors are God-fearing people who understand that the Lord is the CEO of our business and has the final say. Jethro displayed such understanding when in verse 23 he noted that Moses needed to check with God about the advise he'd given.
This need for godly advisers is exemplified by the story of Rehoboam. He became king after the death of his father, King Solomon. When he ascended to the throne, the people pleaded with him to reduce their taxes (1 Kings 12:4). He rightly sought the wisdom of his late father's advisers who encouraged him to treat the people's request favorably. He then opted to also get the opinion of his friends, young men who were inexperienced in statecraft. They, however, encouraged him to mock the people and threaten to increase their taxes (1 Kings 12:13).
This choice to follow his friends' advice was a contributing factor to the kingdom splitting into two. Ten tribes went on their own to establish the Kingdom of Israel leaving Rehoboam to lead his tribe, Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin in the Kingdom of Judah. And just like that, the kingdom David travailed for, the kingdom he passed on to his son, Solomon, that kingdom whittled down to two tribes. All because a new and inexperienced king chose to ignore wise advice and opted for the folly of his friends.
None of this is to say that you are to put the suggestions of advisers and mentors above the word of God. If the Lord has given you direction on an issue, what He said will always be more important than what any mere mortal states. Still, the Lord has called His people to be wise and His wisdom dictates that we need advisers to help us think through issues and grow. With His help, we shall be surrounded with mentors who will lead us the way God desires so our businesses grow by His grace and to His glory, IJMN, Amen.