Good advice

“Let me give you a nickel’s share of free advice young man” said Mr. Strickland to Marty Mc Fly in the hall corridor of Hill Valley High School (Back to the Future2). Everybody in the world seems to have an opinion, a story or just some good old advice for the man or woman who is being tossed to and fro in life’s turbulent waters. Have you ever stopped to ask someone for directions?  The answer you receive may or may not help you find your intended destination.

Solomon, considered by many to be the wisest man alive, failed to follow God’s directions for his life and ended up being the root cause of God taking away his kingdom. Warned ahead of time not to marry foreign women, Solomon disregards God’s commandments and eventually begins to build the high places to worship the other gods his many wives brought into their marriage.  

God used the prophet Ahijah to tell Solomon’s servant Jeroboam that He would tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand because he had worshiped the gods of other nations. Soon after Solomon’s death his son, Rehoboam, began to reign in his place. Jeroboam and the whole assembly came to speak to Rehoboam saying “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” 1 Kings 12.

Now Rehoboam consulted the elders who had stood before his father Solomon “How shall I answer these people?” The men were wise and told the king to listen to his people and to be a servant to them, answer them, and speak good words to them.

But the king rejected the advice which the elders had given and consulted younger men who he had grown up with. These men instead advised him to tighten the yoke further and oppress the kingdom even more than Solomon had done.

This is but another chapter and the real beginning of the divided kingdom that had had its seed sown in the days of King Saul and David. But here we watch as God’s sovereignty is displayed. “So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” 

I want to touch lightly on the ongoing debate of God’s sovereignty verses man’s free will, but first let’s look at a proverb of Solomon who apparently did not follow his own advice. In Proverbs 15:22 “Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established.”

So in Rehoboam’s case he had too much advice and eventually chose to follow the wrong counsel that led to the division of the twelve tribes of Israel. So according to this proverb of Solomon getting advice from a multitude of counselors is important but according to our story in 1 Kings it depends on who is giving the advice!

Now back to the sovereignty of God. You know, by definition we can’t even debate this point. God is sovereign. So then let’s look at man’s free will. If God is controlling everything do we have the power to make real meaningful choices? The answer to this age old debate is yes to both questions. One way to think about it is that God exists outside of space and time therefore is able to see the beginning from the end and knows the choices that we will make before we make them. Sounds confusing?

Leaving this idea aside for the moment, what about the advice we get from others? How do we know if their counsel is the correct path for us? God will allow us to make our own decisions even if they are the wrong ones like in the case of Rehoboam.  So what is the very best way to decide on any situation?

While it is wise to ask advice from people who have experience and a good track record concerning their performance, it’s even more important to consult God. Laying our concerns and our problems at the feet of God is paramount to making the right choice. God, because of His sovereignty, is able to guide us onto the right path. He loves us and wants us to choose to follow Him. God is willing to let us stumble if it is our choice to do so but He would so much like to help if we would only ask Him to do so.

So make sure to pray about everything, seeking God’s advice especially when it comes to asking others for their advice. Let your Heavenly Father be the One to guide you into all understanding.