Revealing A lifestyle of Excellence - The Benefits of Godly Counsel

There are life transforming benefits in godly advice (counsel). This can be seen in the life of Jethro as he counseled Moses. Jethro observed a situation Moses was encountering and these can be seen in Exodus 18:13-27.

In summary, when each person whom Moses was leading had a problem (s), they will come to him for judgment. Moses led thousands, so were the problems he judged in order to make known the statutes of God. Jethro observed Moses’ leadership style and identified a problem with it, then decided to intervene with a word of counsel.

Now, let’s pick up from Exodus 18:19-22 (NKJV) as Jethro gives counsel to Moses. It reads...

Exodus 18:19-22 (NKJV)

Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.  And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.

Emphasis Mine

Jethro’s counsel was simple – Teach these people the way of God, select from amongst them godly men and set them as leaders over groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, tens and let them judge and address the smaller issues and only bring to you the bigger issues. Jethro was simply saying that Moses should delegate. Amen.

So much can be learned from these scriptures about the benefits of Godly counsel.

-        Godly counsel will cause you to see in yourself hidden potentials and cause you to tap into those potentials. Until this point, Moses shouldered all the judgment responsibilities. After the counsel from Jethro, he found in himself a teacher; one who could communicate God’s word to the people and build them up to a place where they too could lead.

Exodus 18:20 (NKJV)

And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.

Emphasis Mine

-        Godly counsel will cause you to see the strength of others.

Exodus 18:25-26 (NKJV)

And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

-        Godly counsel will cause you steward resources efficiently.

In this case, human resources were being wasted. However, after counsel was received, the resources were better managed.

Moses did as advised and the outcome of his leadership was effective.

In conclusion, the godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray 

(Proverbs 12:26 (NLT)).

Revealing A lifestyle of Excellence - The Power of Godly First Impression

A lifestyle of excellence should be the preferred lifestyle for a child of God. Together, let’s take a closer look at the life of Jethro in scriptures. The scripture begins by referring to him as Reuel (Exodus 2:18) and later as Jethro (Exodus 18).

The Hebrew meaning of Reuel is “friend of God”; “one who is intimate with God”.

The Hebrew meaning of Jethro is “Pre-eminence”; “Excellence”; “Abundance”; “Overflowing”.

Now, let’s study 3 verses together about this character as we reveal Godly first impression.

Exodus 2:16 (NIV)

Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock.

Emphasis Mine

This verse communicates to us that he was a Priest of Midian, He was a family man and a father of seven daughters and generally a responsible man because he owned flocks.

Exodus 2:18 (NIV)

When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”

Emphasis Mine

In this verse, we understand that he was one who was a friend of God. By this statement “Why have you returned so early today?”, we see a man who is vigilant to the functioning of his home and the activities surrounding it. A man who cares and pays attention to details.

Exodus 2:20 (NIV)

“And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”

Emphasis Mine

This question and statement convey quite a lot about Reuel’s character. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.”

We see a man who shows concern for others, a man who is hospitable and someone who seeks opportunities to express gratitude. Amen.

Let’s summarize the outstanding qualities of Reuel together.

-A Priest of Midian.

-A father of seven daughters

-A family man

-A responsible owner of flocks

-A man who is vigilant to the functioning of his home and the activities surrounding it

-A man who cares and pays attention to details.

-A man who shows concern for others

- A man who is hospitable

- A man who seeks opportunities to express gratitude

Why is this significant?

A godly first impression positively influences; it conveys a life lived on purpose; reflects God’s glory. Amen.

The first time we are introduced to Reuel, a minimum of 9 outstanding qualities are observed. If scriptures never mention him in another chapter, you will agree with me that Reuel lived an excellent lifestyle.

Here are my questions to you.

Are you living a life of substance? Are you living a quality lifestyle or better still, a lifestyle of excellence? If you are a male listening to these recording, what is it about Reuel’s life that you can learn, add to your life and make your life better?

Live a purpose-driven life. Make it your goal to abound in Christ-like qualities every day of your life. Amen!