“But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.” 2Chronicles 10:8
It doesn’t matter how smart you are. It doesn’t matter how talented you are, which skills you have, where you are born, or which family you came from. All that counts if you want to be successful in life is the people you surround yourself with.
Rehoboam had the benefit of his father’s inner circle, men who gave him wise counsel, but he will not take their advise, he preferred the advices of the sycophants that were milling around him – the “palace jesters”. Evil companionship proved his destruction. His father Solomon says in Proverbs 3:5-6 that “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
We take the colour of the society we keep. We are like chameleons, we take our hue and the colour of our moral character, from those who are around us. Be slow to form your friendships. Endeavour first to take the measure of every man who courts your company. Be sensitive enough to surround yourself with people of character, skill and wisdom. People with experience, who have been down the road of life and understand it, people who place God first and uphold His values, people with sound mind, no ulterior motive, who will look at issues from all perspectives before offering advice. People who love others and value them more than things, whose relationship with you is of mutual benefit.
A large amount of how successful you will be in life comes down to the people you spend time with. Who are your friends? Who are the people you spend time with?