September 16 | Week 3: Character and Growth
Who You Are Getting Advice From Matters!
2 Chronicles 10:6-16
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked. 7 They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”
8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9 He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?” 10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “The people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’
Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’ “
12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13 The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, 14 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.”
15 So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite. 16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!” So all the Israelites went home.
Are You Getting Advice Or Looking For Partisans?
1. Whose advice did Rehoboam ask for first? Whose did he actually follow?
Rehoboam consulted the elders first. However, he followed the advice of his partisans – the young men who he’d grown up with instead.
2. Why do you think he liked the younger men’s advice better? What was appealing about it?
The young men’s advice was appealing because it fed into Rehoboams hubris and sense of pride/self-importance. Their advice put Rehoboam as leading through power and will and not through compassionatly serving his people to win them over. Sadly, it is initially much easier to lead people through fear and authority that it is through kindness, love, and servitude!
Getting Advice You Like Can Cost You Everything
3. What did his choice end up costing him? The Israelites rejected Rehoboam as their king when he took the “easy” advice he liked. Sadly, Rehoboam’s choice also created a horrible divide between God’s people (North – Israel, South – Judah) and set the stage for the historic downfall and collapse of the Jewish nation. Therefore, this sad moment is the core defining element of Rehoboam’s legacy for all time.
Getting Advice I Don’t Like
4. When you ask for advice, do you look for wise people, or people who will tell you what you already want to hear? Honestly, I need to ask myself when I am asking advice if I am asking multiple people that will tell me the truth. Often, I have to remind myself “with many advisors, plans succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22)
Proverbs 15:22
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
Getting Advice With Intentional Humility
1. What happens to plans with no counsel? What happens with many advisers? If I make plans and seek no counsel, those plans will ultimately fail. However, if I seek advice from many advisers, those plans will very likely change for the better and succeeed. Additionally, when I seek advice that I do not like from people I know will tell me what I need to hear and not what they think I want to hear, I am demonstrating humility. God promises to lift me up if I am humble. (Luke 14:11)
Get Advice From Those In High Regard
1 Thessalonians 5:12-14
12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
1. Who are we told to respect and hold in high regard? The scriptures command that we hold in high regard those who work hard, care for us, and who admonish us.
Getting Advice or Getting Agreement?
2. Who are the people in your life you go to for real spiritual advice? Are they wise, or just easy to agree with? When I need real spiritual advice, I reach out to Sean, Michael, Tony, Raul, Ricky, and my wife. Interestingly, they all add something different to the mix, but always help me make better decisions and keep a “cooler head.” (Meaning, they help me to be more temperate!)
APPLICATION: A humble disciple asks for input before making big decisions. Think of a decision in front of you right now. Go to a wise, spiritually mature person this week, actually ask
for their advice, and be willing to take it.
Looks like I’ll be giving Tony a call this week!
