1 Kings 12:13
And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;
Rehoboam is the poster child for those who refuse counseling to forge their own way through decisions. After his father passed away, he went to the older men to receive counsel, only to forsake it because it did not fit what he wanted in advice. Instead, he went to men who were not wise enough to give him advice and followed their error-ridden counsel, which resulted in him losing the kingdom. Had Rehoboam followed the advice of the wise older men, he could have kept the whole kingdom.
Sadly, many believers forge their own way with decisions only to have to clean up a mess that could have been averted had they followed or even gotten advice about what to do. The Scriptures are filled with admonitions of the importance of counseling, and they give great illustrations of people who made grave mistakes because they didn't seek counsel. I have found that there are five grave mistakes people make concerning counsel that should be avoided if you don't want to make bad and disastrous mistakes.
The first mistake is to avoid getting counseling. Joshua and the battle of Ai is a great example of moving forward without counseling. Had he gotten counsel, he would have known about Achan’s sin. It is sad that a President has many advisors to help make decisions concerning the country they lead, but God’s people make many disastrous decisions because they never seek counsel. It does not matter your experience in life; not seeking counsel leads to grave mistakes because no person can see everything. Counseling is simply another set of eyes to look at something to make sure you are not missing something. Getting counsel does not make you ignorant; it actually shows your wisdom.
The second mistake is to forsake the counsel of older people. We live in days when many have thrown the past generation out because they seem antiquated with the present times. My friend, the past generation may not be up on present technology, but they do have wisdom that could help you if you would not forsake them. A person who never seeks the advice of the older generation is headed down a road of heartache. The older generation has likely already seen what you are about to do, and they can let you know how to do it better or why you should avoid it.
The third mistake is to seek the counsel you want to hear. Rehoboam sought the counsel he wanted to hear, but what he wanted to hear cost him the kingdom. Never fall for the trap of seeking advice that you want to hear. Advice won’t always fit your desires, but the purpose of advice is to get the right information to help you make the right decision, and sometimes that information will not fit what you want to hear.
The fourth mistake is not doing what you have been counseled to do. You might as well not get counseling if you will not do what you have been counseled to do. You may not like the counseling you received, but you would be wise to follow its advice so you can avoid grave mistakes.
The fifth mistake is not having multiple counselors. Having more than one voice to advise you often keeps you from going to the one person you want to hear. God says there is safety in the multitude of counselors. Don’t ignore God’s advice only to have one counselor when safety is found in the multitude of counselors.
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