Everyone Needs a Mentor

Everyone needs a mentor. Whether that is a parent or a godly man or woman to come along side you to shepherd you through life.
Second Kings 24 gives the account of King Joash in Israel. He was appointed by Jehoida who was a priest and a very Godly man. Joash was very young so Jehoida mentored him until he was of age to lead the nation. He makes a covenant with God that they will follow God, so in order to do that he had to purge Israel of all their false God's. The story says that under the direction of Jehoida Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. When I read that I wrote in the margin of my Bible, "I wonder what kind of King he would have been if he would not of had Jehoida in his life?" My question was answered as I read on.

Joash goes on to re-build the temple and does all these great things for God under the direction and care of his mentor. Years later at 130 years old Jehoida dies. He had done so much for the nation and for God that he was buried in the tomb of the kings although he himself was not a king. The very next verse after Joash loses his mentor he begins to worship false God's. God raises up Zechariah (who was the son of Jehoida) to confront Joash for his sins. This makes Joash very upset so he has his mentors son stoned. God sends in Syria to serve justice on Joash they defeat Israel despite having a smaller army & Joash is killed in his bed by his own men. Joash is not honored in his death by being buried in the tomb of the kings like his mentor was.
In this small section there are so many take aways. Having a mentor is very important. We saw from this story alone how drastically Joash's life changed when he no longer had Godly counsil. It is very important in student ministry to have a mentorship program where adults can be pouring salt into the lives of students who are at such a moldable point in their lives. I am thankful for the mentors that I had as a student.
We would be mistaken to think that we only need a mentor in the early stages of our lives. We need a mentor in every stage who is going to be a Jehoida to us. Leaders need accountability, One w/o it is a dangerous thing. Who is the Jehoida in your life? Who are you being a Jehoida to?