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A group of African pastors came to the US for a church conference. During their free time they went shopping in downtown Chicago. After several hours, they got turned around and lost. They found a pay phone, called their sponsor who told them to find a street corner and read off the names of the two streets. One of the pastors returned to the phone with the following information, "We’re at the corner of Walk and Don’t Walk." Sometimes when it comes to making a decision, we find ourselves paralyzed at the same intersection—to walk or not walk.

Today, we’re finishing up our series on how to fool proof our decisions by asking the best question ever. Help me out with the question: What is the wise thing for me to do? In light of my past experiences, current circumstances and future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing for me to do? The question is not what is the right, moral, acceptable, cool, best, or legal thing to do, but what is the wise thing for me to do.

But what happens when you ask the best question, and you still don’t know the wise thing to do? You’re stuck at the corner and you don’t know whether to walk or not. Asking the best question will usually narrow your options, but it won’t necessarily give you just one answer. So how do you make the wise choice about relationships, college, careers, time and finances when there’s more than one wise choice? Flip a coin? Walk? Don’t walk? Choose not to choose?

Making a wise choice gets doubly difficult when the fog of emotions and ignorance descends upon you. Positive or negative emotions cloud the picture, making it hard to think straight and to discern the wise thing to do, especially in those emotionally charged arenas of money, love, and power.

Out-of-control emotions can make you unstable and unbalanced and drive you to make decisions based on emotion rather than wisdom. Think about it. Probably some of your greatest regrets in life were based on decisions you made when your emotions were raging out of control.

The fog of ignorance also makes wise decisions difficult when you don’t have the expertise, education, training, or experience to decide. When the lights went out in the auditorium a few weeks ago, I called Jim and Kevin. You wouldn’t want me attempting to make a wise decision about anything electrical. It’s beyond my expertise and abilities. I’d probably choose to go with lava lamps instead. On the other hand, if you want me to find a principle from the Bible for you, bring it on! That’s something I can do.

So when your emotions are raging and your competence is lacking, how do you make wise decisions? How do you see through the fog? What do you do when wisdom seems out of reach? Here’s what wise people do; they exercise the best-kept secret for decision-making. This goes against every fiber of the male psyche. They ask for help. They don’t pretend to know everything or act like they’re smarter than they really are. They seek out the counsel of others.

Andy Stanley puts it this way, "Wise people know when they don’t know; and they’re not afraid to go to those who do know." Wise people know their limits and when they reach the end of their knowledge or their emotions are raging, they do the wise thing and ask for help. Last week, the word was "run" when facing sexual immorality. Today, the word is HELP!

According to the Bible, the wisest man to live on the earth besides Jesus was King Solomon. God granted Solomon one request of his choosing. Of all the things Solomon could have asked for, he asked God for wisdom, which pleased God. So God responds in 1 Kings 3:11–12, "Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people and have not asked for a long life or riches for yourself or the death of your enemies—I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding mind such as no one else has ever had or ever will have!"

Now here’s what's amazing: Solomon, who now is the go-to-guy for wisdom in just about every arena of life imaginable, promotes seeking out wise counsel more than all biblical writers combined. He knew the best-kept secret of wise people—wise people seek out wise counsel.

Proverbs 1:5 says, "Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance. Proverbs 15:22 adds, "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed."

The reason wise people are wise is because they defer to wise people on the front end of major decisions. "Wise people know when they don’t know; and they’re not afraid to go to those who do know." If the best-question ever is What is the wise thing for me to do. The second best question is What do YOU think is the wisest thing for me to do.

But Joseph isn’t finished. He does the unthinkable. He tells Pharaoh what to do in order to prepare for the famine. That’s like a fifth-grade babysitter telling you how to raise your children. It just doesn’t play well. But Joseph, at the risk of being misunderstood and killed, says in Genesis 41:33, "My suggestion is that you find the wisest man in Egypt and put him in charge of a nationwide program." Joseph even lays out the details for stockpiling 20 percent of the crops each year until the famine hits in seven years.

Pharaoh was so pleased with Joseph’s insight and wisdom; he gave the job to Joseph. Listen in Pharaoh's reaction to Joseph's advice in Genesis 41:39–40, "Turning to Joseph, Pharaoh said, 'Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, you are the wisest man in the land! I hereby appoint you to direct this project. You will manage my household and organize all my people. Only I will have a rank higher than yours.'" "Wise people know when they don’t know; and they’re not afraid to go to those who do know." Solomon and Pharaoh had both figured out the best-kept secret of wise people.

Here are three principles of wisdom when you can’t find an easy answer to your decisions. 1. You are never so successful that you no longer need wise counsel. Solomon wasn’t too wise to listen. Pharaoh wasn’t too powerful to listen. If they needed wisdom, you will never get to a level where you don’t need an injection of wisdom from others. Even if you are the most intelligent, well-educated expert in your field, no one rises above his or her need for wise counsel.

2. You will never reach your full potential without utilizing the wisdom of others. Without Pharaoh tapping into Joseph’s wisdom, Egypt would have starved to death. When I was a teenager, I thought I was so smart that I didn’t need the counsel of others. I may have done okay in life without the input of others, but I would never have reached my full potential without outside help and wisdom. The number one golfer in the world—Tiger Woods—has a coach. That coach isn’t as good or as successful as Tiger, but Tiger knows as most athletes do that…

"Wise people know when they don’t know; and they’re not afraid to go to those who do know." When it comes to parenting, finances, marriage, running a business, your spiritual life or emotional challenges, you’ll never reach your peak performance without another set of wise eyes or some kind of wise outside input. No one rises above their need for wise counsel.

3. Wise counsel may come from an unlikely source. To Pharaoh it didn’t matter how long Joseph had been in the dungeon, what he had been accused of, or even his nationality. There was wisdom in Joseph’s counsel. If anything comes out of the story of Pharaoh and Joseph it’s this: Pharaoh was wise enough to know that wisdom comes from unlikely sources. Wise people are wide open to wisdom from those ahead and behind them—socially, financially, relationally, spiritually.

I struggle with this. My tendency is to listen to wise, successful, skillful people who are at a certain level above and beyond me. In my short sightedness I’ll ask, "What can a loser or a lowlife teach me about life? If they’re so smart, why haven’t they made better choices?" But this is all a big smoke screen. It’s a pride thing for me because I’m convinced I know more than I really do. Besides, I don’t want to hear what I already know they’re going to say.

Wise-man Solomon said it best in Proverbs 12:15, "The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice." If you refuse wise counsel; if you refuse to face the truth you don’t want to hear; and if you insist on your own way, you’ll be a card-carrying fool. In the end, the wise person who seeks wise advice breathes a sigh of relief; the fool, a sigh of regret.

So if you are faced with a decision, and you’re in the middle of an intense situation where emotions have clouded your way, don’t trust your personal chooser to get it right. Do the wise thing and seek out wise advice. If you must make a decision that is outside your expertise or ability, don’t pretend or fake wisdom. Do the wise thing and seek out wise advice. Asking others is not a sign of your lack of wisdom, but the evidence of your wisdom.

When the best question ever doesn’t give you all the clarity you need, ask someone you trust and respect, "In light of my past experiences, current circumstances, and future hopes and dreams, what do you think is the wisest thing for me to do?" Why do this? Because "Wise people know when they don’t know; and they’re not afraid to go to those who do know."

Proverbs 28:26