2 minute read.
Daily Reading: 2 Chronicles 10-12 GW; Psalms 53 GW
Bad advice leads to a lousy life.
Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king of Israel. Solomon, his dad, was not a kind ruler. The people asked Rehoboam to lighten the load.
First, our inexperienced king asks the elders what he should do. Wise men, they counsel Rehoboam to do as the Israelites wish, by so doing, gaining their loyalty. Rehoboam then asks his friends for their advice. Brash fellows told the king to ignore the elders and become even harsher than his father.
Rehoboam chose his friend’s advice. Solomon’s kingdom divided, Rehoboam lost everything but Judah. Jeroboam reigned over Israel.
Consider the source.
If Rehoboam had considered the source, he might have kept his kingdom. But rather than hear what he NEEDED to hear, Rehoboam surrounds himself with people who told him what he WANTED to hear. Wrong choice for him, bad choice for you.
When I was single, I had two sets of friends: married and unmarried. When my dating life was in shambles, I had a choice of who I would listen to: those in loving, committed marriages or those in the same situation as me. I chose my married friends with a union like I wanted to have one day. Why? Because they already were where I was. I wanted to go where they were. My married friends were wiser than my single friends when the topic was how to have a great marriage. Because they poured into my life by telling me the things I needed to hear they helped me become who I am today, happily married.
Those friends are still walking with us now that I’m in the type of marriage I always wanted; they still lead us as we grow in our marriage.
Wisely choose your sources. Find someone whose life you want to emulate and invite them to coffee. They’ll tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.
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Lord, thank You for placing people in our lives that can offer wise counsel. Forgive us for listening to people who only tell us what we want to hear. Help us seek wise people for advice, listen to it, and apply it to our lives, today and always. All glory is Yours. IJNIP. Amen
Question for reflection
Have you considered the source in your situation?
