Receiving the hard truth
Everyone wants to hear good news. Who really wants to hear that the plan they painstakingly devised has holes in it? However, finding trustworthy advisers that will disagree with you is not only important but also vital. I think we have seen a recent example of this in the world when Russian dictator Vladimir Putin recently attacked Ukraine.
According to Business Insider, “When his country’s forces first invaded Ukraine in the early hours of February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin was, by many accounts, anticipating a certain and speedy victory. Reports suggest that the longtime leader was expecting to roll into the neighboring territory, flatten a modest resistance, and be met by scores of grateful Ukrainians bearing bread and salt, the traditional Ukrainian greeting custom.”
Instead, what happened, was a long-drawn-out war that should probably have been won in weeks, not months. This particular article talked about how Putin is now purging many of his former leaders. “Experts told Insider that if Putin is upset with the information or advice he’s gotten from advisors, the longtime president himself is responsible for creating an autocratic culture of fear that allowed misinformation to filter directly to him.”
“That only happened because he didn’t want to hear the truth,” said Robert English, a professor at the University of Southern California who studies Russia, the Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe. “It happened because he was more comfortable surrounding himself with yes-men and sycophants instead of intelligent, independent people who would challenge his prejudice.” At the beginning of the war many gave Putin, false hope, reports Insider.
Putin is not the only one who had failed in this regard. In the Old Testament, many of the kings of Israel/Judah were destroyed because they didn’t want to hear the hard truth either. Ahab in 1 Kings 22, pronounces this about one of the true prophets, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil (bad news).”
You will find in your life that the people who only want to give you good news are not the people you want in your inner circle. These are the people who will always give you an attaboy when they should be giving you a whoa boy. Sometimes in scripture, they call them false prophets.
In the end, if you find good honorable people that are willing to take the risk you may not be happy with what they say, but you will be better off in the end.
More so, considering and weighing that advice may save you a lot of pain in the long run. Proverbs 12:15 (ESV) says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.”