The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” 1 Kings 12:13-14
Because of Solomon’s following false gods, God was beginning to split the kingdom of Israel. Rehoboam had taken charge as king of the nation and sought out advice on how to rule the people. He first talked to some of the elders and was told to lighten the load on the people. Then he talked with some younger people and was told to make the load even harder on the people. Rehoboam chose to follow the advice of the younger people and made the people work harder. Although Rehoboam had sought advice from both the elders and the younger people, he never sought advice and direction from God.
Seeking advice from other people is nothing new. Everyone has advisors that they go to for different situations in their life or jobs. No one person is an expert in every area of life or a job. A good manager will know where is weak areas are and seek advice in dealing with those areas. A good parent will seek the advice of others in how to work best at raising his children.
As a believer, seeking advice from other people is not completely bad, however, advice should be sought after from God first. Going to God for advice should be the very first thing that a believer does. Who has better wisdom in what to do or not to do than God?
Once a person has sought out God’s advice, he can then go to others. However, the others that he goes to must also be believers in order to get the best possible advice. Those who are not believers will give advice that is contrary to God’s will and ways.
If you need advice, go to God and see what He has to say. As you hear advice from others, line it up against God’s word. Does it line up with what God has said and done in the Bible? Then follow it. If not, then reject that advice.
When you follow God’s advice for your life, you will have God’s favor and hand upon you.
I pray today that you will seek God first for all needed advice; that God will help you know whose advice to follow; that God will give you His direction for your life; and that you will give God’s advice to others as needed.
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