Ecclesiastes 4:13
“Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.”
In the verse above, Solomon was trying to teach his son the importance of taking admonishment. He wanted his son to understand that it would be better to be a poor person who lived in the poor section of town than to sit on a throne and never allow anyone to tell him what to do. Solomon knew that his son would be destroyed if he ever got to the point where people could not tell him he was wrong.
Ahab hated Prophet Micaiah because the prophet never told him what he wanted to hear. Ahab wanted the prophet to be a “Yes” person, but the prophet would not lower himself to that status. When a man of God told Asa that he was wrong, he had the man of God thrown in prison. These men wanted to surround themselves with “Yes” people, and if anyone told them differently they had them removed. This destroyed them. These men needed these men of God to tell them when they were wrong. These kings should have heeded the admonitions of these prophets, but they didn’t to their own destruction.
The beginning of anyone’s destruction is when they surround themselves with people who are “Yes” people. Everyone needs admonishment. Just because you may have been a “king” in your world or are a “king” in your world doesn’t exempt you from needing people to admonish you. Just because you are older or have many accomplishments to talk about on your resume doesn’t mean that you should never be told what to do. Everyone, no matter their status or accomplishments need to be admonished when they have do wrong. You should never feel that you are exempt from admonishment because of some self-perceived status.
Leaders, be careful about surrounding yourself with “Yes” people. If you are so insecure that you always need people to tell you “Yes” to everything you want to do, you don’t need to hold a leadership position. Insecurity and pride are the only reasons you would want to be surrounded by “Yes” people. Every leader needs to give their followers the freedom to tell them “No” when asking about ideas of what to do. There is safety and wisdom in a person telling you “No” to something that you may want to do if it is not the best thing or right thing to do.
Moreover, every person needs to listen to the admonishment of those who are willing to tell you when you are wrong. If you blow up and lose your temper every time someone tells you “No” or corrects you, you are going to create an atmosphere where nobody will ever admonish you or warn you when you are headed down a dangerous path. When you look for counsel, don’t look for a “Yes” person who will tell you what you want to hear, but look for a counselor who will tell you what is right even if it is not what you want to hear.
“Yes” people are more hurtful to you and your future even though they make you feel good. If you want to avoid making dangerous decisions or avoid starting hurtful projects, you need to be able to take admonishment. If you will always keep a good attitude when people admonish you, you will avoid many hurtful and destructive decisions. There is safety in admonishment; learn to take admonishment with a right attitude.