Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” And they said to him, “If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

And the king answered them harshly; and forsaking the counsel of the old men, King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”

2 Chronicles 10:8-9, 13-14

Carpe Diem. You’ve heard the term and probably understand its meaning of making the most of this day you’re living and living life to the fullest.

While it is a worthy saying, it surely applies to those in the summer of their lives – a time of growth and maturity and when we begin our own independent journey. Younger adults make decisions that set their lives on a trajectory.

In the passage above we read the narrative of a. younger man who did not choose wisely. The son of Solomon, King Rehoboam, rejected wise counsel and surrounded himself with people who ultimately brought him harm as the Kingdom of Israel would be divided. Instead of treating people with compassion, he chose to be a harsh taskmaster. He failed to “seize the day” and experienced a more difficult life.

For those in those early, formative years of adulthood, remember the advice of Solomon recorded in Proverbs –

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
for they are a graceful garland for your head
and pendants for your neck.
My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.

Proverbs 1: 7-10