II Chronicles 10:13 And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam, forsook the counsel of the old men.
Who’s Advice Do You Seek?
I may have told you recently that when I was in college, I occasionally asked a particular roommate if my clothes matched. It wasn’t until the end of the semester that I realized he was somewhat colorblind. He was not the best person from whom to ask sartorial advice! All of us need advice and seek advice, but oftentimes we seek advice from the people least capable of giving us the advice that we need.
The Bible tells us about the foolish son of Solomon, Rehoboam. Solomon was brilliant in ruling, but Rehoboam was not. He was young, but even when you are young you can get advice from people who know more than you do. If you will ask advice of these wiser people, you will get the help that you need. A wise person will learn from those who know more, have experienced more, and have seen more.
Some of Rehoboam’s subjects came to him and said, “Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.”
King Rehoboam asked for advice about this matter from the old men who had stood before Solomon, his father. Then he asked advice of the young men “that were brought up with him.” These young men gave him poor advice, and he took it. Verse 13 says, “And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the council of the old men.” Rehoboam did not listen to the wiser men, and the story ends, “And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.”
This young man lived foolishly not because he didn’t know more, but because he didn’t listen to the people who did. There are three lessons about advice you might take from this. First, you should ask advice from someone who has a different perspective than you have. Most of us ask for advice either to confirm what we are already going to do or to inform what we may do. If you were going to ask advice merely to confirm your actions, then you would ask someone who is exactly like you and would give you approval. If you are going to ask advice to inform your decision, then you are going to ask someone who knows something you don’t know. These young men had grown up with Rehoboam and had the same perspective that he had. The older men had stood before his father and had a different perspective.
Second, ask someone with more experience than you have. There are times when people who are younger than you may have more experience in a particular area than you do, but Rehoboam was asking men for advice who had no more experience than he had. The old men had stood with his father and seen and known much. You have not done yourself a favor when you ask advice of someone who has as little experience as you have.
Third, ask advice from someone who has the same heart as you have. It’s not virtuous to ask advice from someone with a different perspective than you have if they are not also pulling with you. While we should never be arrogant, people who do not have the same heart as you do could not possibly give you the right advice.
Ask advice from someone with a different perspective, more experience, and same heart as you. Why? Because few people rise above the level of the advice they seek. So, realize what it is you know and don’t know, and seek advice from people who can be of help to you.