The s
tory is told of a woman and her baby traveling on a train during a terrible snowstorm in the northeast. The blizzard created near whiteout conditions and she became more and more concerned about disembarking at the right stop. It was then that the man seated next to her calmed her fears and told her, “Don=t worry, I know this route well, and I will advise you when to get off.”
Before long the train stopped, and the man told her to prepare for the next stop, which would take her home safely. Soon the train stopped once again, and the woman carrying her infant stepped down into the stormy air. After starting up again, the conductor soon called out the name of the stop at which the lady had wished to depart. “But I thought that was the last stop,” shouted the man up to the conductor.
“Oh, no,” was the conductor’s reply. “We stopped back there because I had to clean off the lights. This is her stop.”
The next day the newspapers reported the demise of a woman and her child, frozen to death out in the middle of nowhere.
How sad it is to hear of a simple matter becoming a horrible tragedy because of some misdirected advice. Advice! We’ve all needed it. We’ve all received it. We’ve all given it. Just how precious is good advice?
Rehoboam was the son of King Solomon. Unfortunately, Rehoboam received little of his father’s wisdom.
As Rehoboam was taking office, the people begged him to lessen the tax and work burden placed on them by Solomon. So he consulted his advisors. First, he went to the elders who had served with his father. Their advice was: “If you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants” (10:7).
Next, Rehoboam consulted his buddies, the young men he grew up with. Their advice was: “Tell them . . . my little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 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” (10:10,11).
Whose advice do you think Rehoboam followed? If you look closely at Israel’s history, you will discover that before long Rehoboam was hiding somewhere in Jerusalem because his kingdom was crumbling. His father, Solomon, was the last of the kings to serve a unified kingdom, and Rehoboam was the first to serve a divided kingdom, torn apart by poor judgment.
We might wonder how Rehoboam could be so foolish that he was unable to understand the situation. How could he not see that the advice he followed would destroy his kingdom? Sadly, we are often not much different today. What advice do we listen to? “You’re a god,” say the New Agers. “Just try it,” say the drug dealers. “Everyone=s enjoying it,” say the Hollywood elite. “It can’t hurt you,” say the rappers.
How do you choose your advice? What do you use as a guide to test each bit of advice given to you? There’s only one place that has consistent advice on every subject imaginable: God’s Word. God designed it that way. It is a gold mine of his advice, with remarkable counsel that can never be wrong. And if you seek God’s advice, you will always make wise judgments. Did you notice something missing in Rehoboam’s search for advice? Never once did he consult the Lord! Perhaps he should have sought first the advice of the “Wonderful Counselor.”
God shall do my advising,
Whose might with wisdom blends;
May he bless rest and rising,
My efforts, means, and ends!
(from “My Inmost Heart Now Raises”)
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