READING: 1 Kings 12-14, John 6:16-59
I’m an older person, but I keep learning from even older persons. As long as there are those who’ve walked before me, they have something to teach me – and I must remain teachable no matter how old I get. The moment I choose not to listen to folks much wiser than I, I’m asking for trouble.
Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, failed to recognize this lesson. When the ten tribes of Israel asked him to lighten their yoke (and, in fact, offered to serve him if he did so), he chose to ignore the advice of a group of older advisors; instead, he chose to listen to his contemporaries who told him to increase the burdens of the people – perhaps to intimidate them into service. That choice would ultimately divide the kingdom.
I don’t want to suggest I can learn nothing from younger people (indeed, I learn from them almost every day in my work as pastor and professor), but I pray I always listen to folks wiser than I.
PRAYER: “Lord, thank You for those older men who still pour into me.”
DAILY ACTION STEP: Listen to someone older and wiser today – and if possible, be that older and wiser person for someone else.
TOMORROW’S READING: 1 Kings 15-17, John 6:60-71