Oh, Ahab, the grown man, the king who throws a temper tantrum when he doesn’t get a piece of land he has no right to. Who won’t ask that prophet, the real prophet, for advice because he knows he won’t like what he’ll hear. I mean come on! How childish is that? “Nope. I don’t ask him because he always tells me no.”
Well, stop asking if you can do things you know you shouldn’t ought to do!
I’ve had a friend like that…
Anyway. It’s not like Ahab didn’t have his fair chance. He saw the fire of God come down and devour stone. He was granted two impossible victories in a row. He knows God’s power. He knows who God is. And he still chooses to consult false prophets and listen to his ‘lovely’ wife.
How many times do we ignore what we know to be true because it’s inconvenient? Because the implications aren’t comfortable?
I’m not saying we ever take it as far as Ahab. I sure hope you don’t ever take it as far as Ahab, but we do kind of do the same thing, don’t we? We avoid asking that friend for advice, because we know they’ll call us out. We try to reason our way through doing what we want to do instead of what we know is right. I may not have ever truly avoid someone to the point of ending a relationship with them because I knew I wouldn’t like what they had to say, (that hurts, by the way, when you’re the one being avoided,) but I’m pretty sure I’ve avoided asking questions I didn’t want the answer to. I’ve probably changed the subject once or twice.
But I’d rather be David than Ahab. I’d rather face the unpleasant message with humility and seek resolution, restitution. I’d rather sing hymns of praise even in my darkest hours than throw temper tantrums when I don’t get my way. For that matter, I’d rather be Johoshaphat, seeking advice from a solid source, one that listens to God, rather than surrounding myself with ‘yes men.’