Today’s Reading, 1 Kings 12-14
Focal Scripture: 1 Kings 12:8 “But he rejected the advice of the elders who had advised him and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and attended him.”
It is painful to watch people ignore sound advice. It is even more heartbreaking to watch the outcome of bad advice come to fruition. I have seen this happen many times in my life. Even a few times I was the person that ignored wisdom from elders and listened to other people who were not wise. Why? Because they told me what I wanted to hear. Both times it lead to heartache in my personal life.
In todays reading we see Solomon’s son get advise from two different groups. One group told him to be kind to the group who came to honor him. By doing so he would win them over and show mercy. His young friends encouraged him to be even harsher than his father with this group. The king took the harsh route. This advice was bad and it lead to pain for the king and the people who humbled themselves. It also demonstrated very poor leadership.
The takeaway from today is to be very careful who you take advice from in your life. Especially, leadership advice. I have learned that most people give advice off of what they think is best for them as an individual not off of what is best for everyone. This is what has happened in this situation. The king could have easily shown mercy and grace. He could have gotten allies that were once enemies. Instead he showed cruelty. He showed what happens when a leader has suffered through tragedy.
My encouragement for you today is to surround yourself with people who will give Godly wisdom. People who see the big picture and not a selfish agenda. I was once around a leader who made decisions on what was best for them and not the organization. In meetings they would talk about others in horrible ways, then leave the meeting and butter that person up so they would accomplish the agenda they wanted. It was about personal survival not about the health of the organization. They encouraged others to lead the same way. Their advice was not followed. I have seen how good leaders treat others and make decisions and that is not the way.
Be careful who gives you advice. Listen to sound advice and not to people who tell you what you want to hear. Good leadership means concessions and it means being flexible. The only hard stance we take are biblical ones that are clear.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading 1 Kings 15-17
