Growing up, we often had some artistes and magicians set up makeshift stages on busy street corners to show off their skills and make some quick buck. Crowds of spectators easily formed around those acts the way ants are drawn to sugar. Such crowds had a way of bringing together the good, the bad and the ugly.
My mum told me never to mingle with such crowds and I obeyed for a while, until one of those days, when the pull of the crowd was more than my resolve. I could not resist the temptation of catching just a glimpse of the performance. I really can’t remember what the show was about on that day, but one thing I will never forget about that day is that my wrist watch ‘disappeared’ from my hand on that spot. Obviously, the guy that took it from me was a professional as I was oblivious of the fact that the ownership of my watch had changed until I got home and couldn’t find it on my wrist. Needless to say that I never went near any of such crowds again…thereafter, heeding my mum’s counsel became something very vital to me.
That was the way that I lost my first wrist watch. As a matter of fact, many victories and failures we experience in life depend on who we listen to and what we do with the counsel we receive from different sources. In a way, it could be viewed as a matter of life and death because lives have been made or destroyed based on different types of counsel.
The dethronement of Vashti as Xerxes’ queen was a product of the counsel that the king received from Memucan. If any other person other than Memucan had spoken up on that day, the outcome might have been different.
Memucan answered the king and his nobles, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also every noble and citizen throughout your empire. Women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands when they learn that Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the king. Before this day is out, the wives of all the king’s nobles throughout Persia and Media will hear what the queen did and will start treating their husbands the same way. There will be no end to their contempt and anger. Esther 1: 16 – 18 (NLT)
Esther’s ascension to the throne was in part because she listened to all that the king’s eunuch told her. She did not trivialize Hegai’s advice.
Esther was the daughter of Abihail, who was Mordecai’s uncle. When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her. Esther 2:15 (NLT)
After the death of King Solomon, his son Rehobaom lost 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel because of wrong counsel.
But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. 1Kings 12:8 (NLT)
David destroyed the Ammonites in a needless war because their king listened to wrong counsel from his commanders,
Some time after this, King Nahash[a] of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king. David said, “I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death. But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!” So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame. 2 Samuel 10: 1 – 4
If you take stock in retrospect, I’m sure you’ll have your own tales of wise and unwise counsel, wise counsel heeded and otherwise. Most times, we are in total control of who we listen to and what we do with whatever advice we receive. So, we can choose who we give our ears to. Words are like seeds sown into our hearts through our ears, we can’t just afford to give all manner of people unfettered access to plant different things in our hearts. On the flip side, we need to make every effort to ensure that our paths are lined with wise counsel.
As we prudently seek out wise counsel and shut out destructive advice, we can be sure of one source of wisdom that never fails – the WORD!
My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Proverbs 3: 1 – 2
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