Dealing with Idols of the Heart

[Study Aired May 10, 2021]

Eze 14:1  Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. 
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? 
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 
Eze 14:5  That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. 
Eze 14:6  Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 
Eze 14:7  For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: 
Eze 14:8  And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 
Eze 14:9  And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 
Eze 14:10  And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him; 
Eze 14:11  That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD. 

The scriptures we have just read talk about the fact that one of the impediments to hearing from Christ is that we have idols of the heart. In this exposition therefore, we will focus on dealing with idols of the heart based on the following themes:

What are idols of the heart?

Sources of idols of the heart?

The consequences of having idols of the heart

How do we get rid of idols of the heart?

What are Idols of the Heart?

They are knowledge or inclinations that we have harbored in our heart which are not consistent with the word of God. These knowledge or inclinations seem like the truth, but they are NOT!! They are also what we treasure or bow down to or worship in our lives, or anything that directs our attention from knowing Christ are also idols of the heart. These include behavioral patterns that we are comfortable with that are not in line with how an elect should behave. What we need to understand is that these idols of the heart are closely related to our flesh and what it desires. Here in Ezekiel, these idols of the heart are described as the stumbling block of iniquity.

Let me give an example here. As our eyes are being opened and our ears are hearing the word of God through the mercies of God, we come to realize that we have imbibed many doctrines which are not consistent with the word of God.  These doctrines therefore become the idols of our hearts especially when we have had an experience based on our belief of these doctrines. For example, while we were in the churches of this world, we physically fasted and prayed, and sometimes God miraculously answered our prayers. We therefore come to think that it is because of our fasting that God answered us, and so fasting becomes the idol of our hearts, forgetting that God answers us according to multitude of our idols at various stages of our walk with Him (Eze 14:4). Thus, even when we come to know through the word of God that physical fasting is not relevant, but what is important is to keep ourselves from taking in false doctrines as food and to keep ourselves from doing evil (spiritual fasting), we struggle to accept this. 

From what we have said so far, we can see that examples of idols of the heart includes our dogmatic beliefs such as man’s free will, rapture, tongues, everlasting torment in hell, etc., and such things as harboring bitterness or being given to bouts of anger. Sometimes a mother may love a son so much that her love of God becomes secondary. This is also an idol of the heart. 

Isa 58:4  Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. 
Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? 
Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 
Isa 58:8  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. 

Before we came into the light, many of us believed in witches who can influence our lives (especially in Africa). There were others who believe in UFOs and have even had encounters with them. So even when we read the word of God and we come to know that there are no such things as UFOs, we do not agree because of what we have experienced, and so UFOs or witches become an idol of the heart blocking the knowledge of Christ from entering our minds. God uses evil spirits to deceive the world. For example, when Saul consulted a witch and heard a voice like Samuel speaking, does it mean that Saul truly heard the voice of Samuel or that Samuel is a ghost or he has been resurrected? The answer to all these questions is, “Absolutely no!!” This is what the word of God says when we die:

Job 14:10  But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? 
Job 14:11  As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: 
Job 14:12  So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. 

Job 14:14  If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come (the change is the resurrection). 
Job 14:15  Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

The scriptures here show us that when we die, we do not become a ghost or are resurrected into heaven. We continue as dead until our change comes or our King calls us in the day of resurrection, and then we will answer. Jesus disciples also believed in ghosts when they were with Jesus as shown by the fact that when Jesus walked on the sea and they were in a boat, they thought they had seen a ghost!!

Mat 14:26  But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 
Mat 14:27  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 

That is why our preaching or teaching must be solely based on the word of God but not on our experiences, because our experiences may not be the reality!! Does it mean that our experiences do not count? No, that is not what we are saying here. Some of our experiences are important, but we must test the spirit to see that what we have gone through is in accordance with the word of God.

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom (our experiences), but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men (our experiences), but in the power of God. 
1Co 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 
1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 

Sources of Idols of the Heart

The sources of idols of the heart include:

Our traditional beliefs.

Our educational system

The churches that we attended when we started our journey with Christ.

An evil spirit from the Lord deceiving us.

Our Traditional Beliefs

Our background constitutes a significant source of our belief system. Traditional beliefs are our beliefs and value systems which we pick up from our environment as we grow up. For example, in Africa and some other parts of the world, the belief in witches and wizards is one of the idols of our hearts which prevent us from knowing the word of God. We ascribe any misfortune to the work of witches and wizards. We think they are responsible for sicknesses, accidents and death of many people. In the northern part of Ghana for example, there is a village to where witches are banished. The question is, “Are witches and wizards a present danger?” If so, we would have been warned by the word of God. However, the word of God says that we have two enemies – the beast within and the devil outside!! Our belief in these witches and wizards do not stand the test of God’s word!!  Let’s hear what Jesus said about our traditional beliefs:

Mar 7:5  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 
Mar 7:6  He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 
Mar 7:7  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 
Mar 7:8  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 
Mar 7:9  And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 

Our Educational System

When Adam and Eve sinned, this is what the Lord told Adam:

Gen 3:17  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

What the Lord said to Adam means that we as human beings will naturally produce thorns and thistles which are false doctrines – what is contrary to the word of the Lord. So our formal educational system produces only thorns and thistles which means that what we have learned in school constitutes a major source of idols of the heart. It is through the formal educational system that we all become opinioned, believe in our own strength and will power, desiring to be successful at all costs, measure success by what we have achieved, not what God has done, etc. 

Surprisingly, we have translated this carnal form of education into the church and created Bible schools where people go to multiply the idols of the hearts!! In the Old Testament, there were schools of prophets, but those who God used mightily to affect their generations normally did not belong to these schools. So it is today!!

1Sa 10:10  And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him (schools of prophets); and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 
1Sa 10:11  And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? 
1Sa 10:12  And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? 

Does it mean that we should not let our children go to school or further our education ourselves? Absolutely not!! The educational system is all part of the experience of evil God has marked for the human race to go through.

The Churches We Attended or Are Attending

The main source of the idols of the heart is the churches of this world, which are called Babylon. For example, the disciples of Jesus had idols of the heart even when they were with Jesus during His stay on earth.  Some of them were due to the misinterpretation of the word of God they had learned from the Pharisees and Sadducees, teachers of the “church”. For example, the disciples thought that Jesus was physically going to establish His kingdom on earth during their time. So when Jesus was leaving the earth, they met him, and the question they asked was when was he going to restore the kingdom to Israel? 

Act 1:6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 
Act 1:7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 

The word of God says that God has taken away from Jerusalem the whole stay of bread and water. That means that the truth of the word of God has been taken away from the churches of this world. So during our time with the churches at certain stages of our walk with Christ, we picked up many doctrines which are not consistent with the word of God.  

Isa 3:1  For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, 

The essence of the writings of Paul, Peter, John and Jude was to warn the churches of this anomaly. Let’s hear some of their warnings:

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 
2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. 

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. 

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Now let’s listen to our Lord Himself and what he has to say about this.

Mat 12:43  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 
Mat 12:44  Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 
Mat 12:45  Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. 

If Jesus said that this wicked generation will experience this, then we must be assured that we have experienced this already. If Jesus said that His words are spirit, then whatever we hear is also spirit. What Jesus is saying here is that when we start our journey with Him, it is like an unclean spirit gone out of us as our eyes are opened to see the truth of God’s word, and therefore many of the falsehoods we have imbibed from childhood are dispelled. Then we enter the churches where we imbibe seven more spirits (learn of another Jesus), and in the final analysis, our last state is worse than when we began. 

An Evil Spirit from the Lord Deceives Us

Another avenue that opens ourselves to idols of the heart is when God sends an evil spirit to deceive us. This usually occurs when we do not love the truth and sometimes when we become spiritually proud thinking our point of view is always the truth. 

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

The strong delusion that comes to us is through the agency of evil spirits which are sent by the Lord. The story about King Ahab and Jehoshaphat trying to find out about the mind of Christ concerning engaging the Syrians in battle, demonstrates this point.

1Ki 22:3  And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? 
1Ki 22:4  And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. 
1Ki 22:5  And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. 
1Ki 22:6  Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. 
1Ki 22:7  And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? 
1Ki 22:8  And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 
1Ki 22:9  Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. 

1Ki 22:14  And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak. 

1Ki 22:16  And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? 
1Ki 22:17  And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. 
1Ki 22:18  And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? 
1Ki 22:19  And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. 
1Ki 22:20  And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 
1Ki 22:21  And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 
1Ki 22:22  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. 
1Ki 22:23  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. 

As our eyes are seeing and our ears are hearing, we should guard against the tendency to become spiritually proud and therefore become susceptible to deception by the Lord through evil spirits. Paul warned us about this as follows:

1Co 8:1  Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. 
1Co 8:2  And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

The Consequences of Harboring Idols of the Heart

One of the obvious consequences of harboring idols of the heart is that we get deceived by God and do not come to know the truth. 

Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 

Eze 14:9  And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 

Once we are deceived, we end up producing thorns and briars or false doctrines thinking they are the truth. This is what Paul has to say about this:

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 
Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 
Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. 
Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. 

Another result of idols of the heart is that we get separated from God. It is the same as being put in outer darkness.

Mat 8:12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Eze 14:7  For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: 
Eze 14:8  And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

The third effect of the idols of the heart is that we get punished by God.

Eze 14:9  And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 
Eze 14:10  And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him; 

Finally, our idols of the heart will cost us our reward. 

Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 
Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. 

How do we get rid of These Idols of the Heart?

We get rid of the idols of the heart through knowing the word of God. 

Psa 29:5  The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.

The cedars of Lebanon here are the idols of the heart. Like fire, the word of God burns out the idols of our hearts. So the more our eyes are seeing and our ears are hearing, we automatically are getting rid of these idols of the heart. 

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 

Another way of getting rid of these idols is by learning to test the spirit by comparing spiritual with spiritual, which means comparing scripture with scripture.

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 

The third antidote to getting rid of idols of the heart is to learn to not go beyond what is written. 

1Co 4:6  And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

Finally, another remedy to idols of the heart is that we should be deferring to our leaders. 

Heb 13:17  Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. 

As indicated earlier, we should resist the temptation of being puffed up by the knowledge we are receiving and submit ourselves to our leaders who are not novice but tried and tested.

1Co 8:1  Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. 
1Co 8:2  And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. 

2Co 12:7  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 

If we are approached by our brothers and sisters on any issue concerning us, we should closely look at their point of view and hold discussion with the view that, at the end, it will make us better in the sight of God. As Paul said, we should consider others better than ourselves in this walk. Every time I read our brothers’ writings, there are certain portions of their writings that I always say, “This has always been there, and why didn’t I see it?” That is because God wants us to humble ourselves and depend on others to feed us. 

Php 2:3  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 
Php 2:4  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 
Php 2:5  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 
Php 2:6  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 
Php 2:7  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 
Php 2:8  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 
Php 2:9  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 
Php 2:10  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 
Php 2:11  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)

Jas 4:10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. 
Jas 4:11  Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 

As we know, the scriptures were written for our admonition. I will therefore conclude with the story of King Rehoboam (Solomon’s son) who preferred advice from the youth rather than the elders who had been tried and tested, and as a result he divided the kingdom of Israel in two. This is to emphasize the point that we should be deferring to our leaders as by the multitude of counselors, there is safety!!

1Ki 12:1  And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. 
1Ki 12:2  And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) 
1Ki 12:3  That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, 
1Ki 12:4  Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. 
1Ki 12:5  And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. 
1Ki 12:6  And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? 
1Ki 12:7  And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. 
1Ki 12:8  But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: 
1Ki 12:9  And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? 
1Ki 12:10  And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. 
1Ki 12:11  And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. 

Pro 15:22  Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established. 

Pro 24:6  For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety. 

May the Lord help us all get rid of these idols of our hearts so that the light of the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will illuminate our hearts so we can prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of our Lord. May His name be praised!!!

[Author may be contacted at abarnes (at) semfinancial.com]