Friday 27 January 2006

The king forsook the old men’s counsel

“And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;” - 1 Kings 12v13

When Rehoboam became king on Solomon’s’ death he did a wise thing. He went to two groups of people for advice. Seeking advice is always good. First he went to the older men who had advised Solomon. They advised him to continue to seek the will of the people and treat them well as his father had done.

He did not like that advise so he went to his young friends who advised him to crack down on the people, increase their taxes, and “show then who was boss.”

He obviously had two choices, and he made the wrong one. The advice of the young men appealed to his youthful pride and he decided to follow them. His decision led to the division of the nation already been prophesied and even civil war.
There is wisdom in seeking the advice of those who are older than we are. They have years of living and experience that younger people do not have. The advice of older people is not perfect, but it is well worth considering.

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