14 Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom. 2 Samuel 17:14

There’s no shortage of advice out there. The trick is to find advice that helps you, not hurts you. Absalom had an opportunity to rebel against his father (King David) and seize the kingdom from him. It was working; David had lost heart and was on the run. With the troops he had available, Absalom faced a critical decision: take the few troops he had and pursue David, maintaining the momentum he had generated, or wait until a larger army had gathered together, giving Absalom numbers but also giving David an opportunity to regroup.

In 2 Samuel 17, Absalom listens to two pieces of contradictory advice. Ahithophel advised to strike while the iron was hot, to mobilize his ready troops and strike at David while he was demoralized. Hushai advised caution and patience. Absalom listened to bad advice, lost the kingdom and ultimately lost his life because of it. Here are the three dangers of listening to bad advice:

1). It stops forward momentum. All it takes is one bad decision to kill any semblance of momentum you have in your life. Whether it’s a career, a relationship, or your finances, bad advice can bring everything you’ve worked for screeching to a sudden halt. That’s what happened with Absalom. If he would have continued to push, David would have surrendered and the kingdom would have been solidified under Absalom.

2). It capitalizes on your fears. The genuine fear that Absalom had was that he would overplay his hand by attacking immediately. What if David counter-attacked and defeated Absalom because he wasn’t at full strength? Hushai capitalized on that fear and cautioned inaction when action was needed. When we allow fear to rule us we gravitate towards advice that capitalizes on those fears, even if it’s bad advice.

3). It has consequences for years to come. The reason we read about King Solomon, the ultimate successor of David, rather than King Absalom, was because he listened to bad advice. The kingdom was his, and he squandered it. Some of you reading this right now are still paying the consequences of the bad advice you listened to years ago.

Do whatever you need to do to find and cultivate relationships with two or three people that can give you wise, godly and discerning counsel when you need it the most. Avoid the mistakes of Absalom.