“Plans are established by counsel; by wise counsel wage war” (Proverbs 20:18).
The Scriptures do not condemn thinking or planning ahead. God eternally purposed the plan of human redemption in Christ. Without His forethought and planning, the Bible would have ended at Genesis 3!
It is wrong to think about the future and worry (Mat. 6:25-34). It is sinful to plan presumptuously (James 4:13-14). It is evil to believe your plan(s) are better than God’s providence (James 4:15-16).
It is also foolish to plan without seeking input from others, especially if their availability and involvement are critical components of those plans. The extreme folly of this approach to making plans is found in the second half of the proverb. This occurred in the life of King Saul.
In 1 Samuel 13, Saul declared war on the Philistines. His son Jonathan, with 1,000 men attacked the garrison of the Philistines in Geba. The Philistines’ response was to muster 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and foot soldiers “as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude” (v. 5). Because of the fear in his army, Saul had 600 men when he numbered his forces (v. 15). When the day of battle with the Philistines came, not only were they vastly outnumbered, “there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan” (v. 22).
Who would call a king with this battle “plan” a wise and trustworthy commander? There was no hint of any wise counsel in Saul’s “plans”.
Of how much greater folly is it when a Christian soldier goes out to spiritual battle today without his armor on?
Oh, the extreme importance of wise planning!
