I remember this young girl I was friends with in kindergarten and first grade. Her name was Shelly. She was spunky little tomboy and enjoyed playing on the daycare playground as much as I did. We were the best of friends until the latter part of my first grade year. I’m not sure what happened but, I remember she began to lie to me in almost any conversation we had. I would ask her a question and she would purposefully tell me the opposite of what I knew to be true. For some reason, she would give me little toys or notes and then go and tell our teacher I had stolen them from her. I didn’t understand why she started to act this way but it was a valuable lesson I learned early in life. Throughout my life, I have made purposeful choices in who I would build relationships and spend my time with. I learned the necessity of surrounding myself with those I could trust that were as loyal to me as I was to them. I would never de-friend anyone who treated me badly. But I did learn the importance of keeping those people at an arms distance so as not to get taken advantage of. As I became a teenager, it became important to surround myself with friends who challenged me to be the best person I could be. Someone to tell you, in love, that your actions were incorrect and you need to make things right. Everyone loves a “yes” man/woman. But those types of people are like leaves. Wherever the wind blows, that’s where you’ll find them. What we really need are people who can serve as roots in our lives.
King Rehoboam was the son of Solomon and succeeded his father on the throne. Even though his father was known to be one of the wisest men in history, Rehoboam apparently didn’t learn much from his father. 2 Chronicles 10 finds the labor force of his time approaching him asking for their work load to be lightened. In return, they would serve him faithfully. He asks them to go away for three days and takes this time to consider his options. He approaches the older men who had served his father and asked them what he should do. They all agreed he should listen to the workers and lighten the load. Rehoboam turns to the guys he grew up with and posed the same question. Their response was he should use this time to exercise his power as king and make their load even heavier. 2 Chronicles 10:8 says, “8 But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him.” By listening to the wrong people, His ignorant choices caused him to lose nearly his entire kingdom.
Closing remarks and encouragement: We should always ask, “Who are we surrounding ourselves with?” Had Rehoboam listened to wise council and honored God, his reign as king would have looked very different. Who we surround ourselves with will determine our successes or failures. Who’s in your circle of influence?