Day 14 - 2 Chronicles

You need advice.  You ask virtually everyone you know.  You get varying opinions.  Often, those opinions end up kind of in two camps.  What do you do?  How do you know who to listen to?  One of the most powerful choices we get in life is choosing who we let influence us.  Making that decision isn't always easy.  There's a fascinating story about seeking the advice of insiders in 2 Chronicles 10.  It's a story that happens shortly after King Solomon dies and the throne is passed down to his son, Rehoboam.  Jeroboam comes before the new king to try to bring unity to all Israel under his rule.

3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and all Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”


5 Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away.

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

This did not end well for Rehoboam.  His selfishness and poor decision led to the beginning of a long history of dissension between Jerusalem and the rest of Israel:

¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

I couldn't help but think about LeBron James when I read that passage.  If you don't follow basketball, LeBron came into the NBA right out of high school about 9 years ago.  He has had a strange career.  He's unbelievably talented and one of the best players planet Earth has ever seen.  But he's a bit of an enigma.  He has a very tight circle of close friends, many from his home town and from high school, that he has leaned on to make decisions.  And they've often seemed to have given him the wrong advice.  This past off-season, after losing in the NBA finals last year (and personally playing awful at times), James reached out to some older stars.  He called and asked for advice from Hakeem Olajuwon, a star from back in my day.  And James is different this year.  He's more mature.  He seems to be making better decisions.  He seems more relaxed.  And he's dominating the NBA playoffs, leading the Heat to the Finals again. 
Listen, this isn't to say we can't have childhood, high school or college friends.  It isn't to say that everyone that is older gives the best advice or is always wiser.  What this passage is saying is that we need to seek out people that are wise, people that aren't looking to puff us up but are looking to keep us grounded.  We need people who don't have our best interest in mind, but have the best interest of the Kingdom in mind.  That's right.  We need people who will convict us, push us and challenge us to make tough decisions.  We need to find people to influence us who love God more than they love us.  And when we find them, we've got to listen to them.  Find some mentors.  Find some wise souls.  And be careful with the people who always tell you exactly what you want to hear.