It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way (Proverbs 19:2).

There is a certain slowness to the Proverbs:  slowness to speak... slowness to sin... slowness to elevate oneself... slowness to make decisions... There just seems to be a sense of wisdom that runs contrary to pragmatic decisiveness, emotional experience, and instantaneous insight -- not that these things are inherently bad, just that they need to be balanced with patience, knowledge, and an overriding sense of spiritual wisdom.

As Christians, I wonder if we can be too quick to make decisions and take action based solely on the premise of "God told me so."  Often, this sense of God's immediate revelation comes in the context of a single, emotionally-charged set of circumstances.  Yet, because it's couched in terms of divine revelation, there's no opportunity for true discourse or deliberation.  "God told me so" is the ultimate trump card.  The decision is done.  The action is taken.  It's a tricky thing.  Of course I believe that God can (and does) speak to us directly.  It's absolutely possible that God will ask us to dramatically change our life's direction -- 90 degrees, or even 180 degrees.  But I feel like there is some wisdom in slowing ourselves down to the pace of the Proverbs, in the midst of such circumstances.  Even in the face of God's revelation, there can be great benefit in applying patience, knowledge, and wisdom.  "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way."

Our family has made a rule for ourselves -- a sort of fail-safe "security clearance" for our trans-Atlantic existence (American citizens living in the Netherlands, often traveling back and forth and dealing with all the related physical and cultural adjustments).  The rule is this:  We're not allowed to make any decisions or even to make any blanket statements about "life" within 48 hours of trans-Atlantic travel.  There's just too much confusion, too many biological processes that are thrown out of whack in the six-hour jet-lag -- that rational thinking is almost impossible.  Without such a 48-hour safeguard in place, we might have been compelled to have sold houses, cancelled long-standing plans, made on-the-spot career decisions, and jumped to immediate (and irrational) conclusions about the entire arc of our family's existence.  But employing such "knowledge-with-zeal / anti-haste" safeguards, we're able to slow ourselves down to the pace of the Proverbs, and ultimately we can make better decisions that take the broad range of circumstances and sources of input into consideration.

I'm not saying that everyone necessarily needs to implement such a blanket policy when it comes to major life decisions (moving cities, initiating romantic relationships, changing careers, etc.).  In fact, I believe that there absolutely needs to be some room for staying in tune with the Holy Spirit and making immediate changes sometimes.  But nine times out of ten, would it be such a bad thing to slow down to the pace of the Proverbs?