After the death of Solomon, the Israelites approached the new king, Rehoboam, with a simple petition: lighten our burden. “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” (1 Kings 12:4). In response, he requested three days to determine his answer. During that time, he received contrasting counsel from two groups of advisors.
- The old men (his father’s advisors) advocated servant leadership: “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” (1 Kings 12:7).
- The young men (his friends) advocated authoritarian leadership: “Thus shalt thou speak unto this people … My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. 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” (1 Kings 12:10-11).
Objectively, option one is the smart answer. Why did he choose option two?
A similar story in the Book of Mormon helps us understand the option’s appeal. After the death of Zeniff, his son Noah became king over a group of Nephites. Like Rehoboam, he replaced the priests his father had appointed with a new set of priests “such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts” (Mosiah 11:5). With the support of these priests, Noah levied oppressive taxes, embarked on extravagant building projects, and “spent his time in riotous living” (Mosiah 11:14).
The influence of these priests becomes particularly evident during the sentencing phase of the trial of Abinadi, a prophet who called on Noah and his priests to repent. After a particularly scathing rebuke by the prophet, “king Noah was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him.” But the priests vehemently objected, shouting, “He has reviled the king.” In response, Noah affirmed the sentence of execution (Mosiah 17:11-12).
The text describes a king and group of advisors who maintain influence over their people by speaking “vain and flattering words” (Mosiah 11:7), but as this incident illustrates, Noah was also influenced by his priests’ appeals to his own pride. He preferred proud advisors who propped up his own pride.
Such was also the case with Rehoboam. The counsel of his father’s advisors required him to humble himself. The younger advisors made no such demands on his ego.
Unfortunately, both Rehoboam and Noah learned the hard way that advice which sounds appealing may be harmful rather than helpful. Rehoboam lost the allegiance of a large portion of his kingdom (1 Kings 12:16-20). Noah lost his entire kingdom and was executed by his own people (Mosiah 19:20).
Today I will accept advice which requires me to humble myself. I will recognize that the most appealing advice is often not the wisest, and I will not reject sensible advice even if it punctures my ego.
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