Fool
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, "Come to me again the third day." And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions."
1 Kings 12:12-14 (ESV)
1 Kings 12:12-14 (ESV)
Fool.
Those who are given little authority love to grab more authority. It is easy for us to begin to believe the clippings written about us while forgetting that we control the press.
In this instance, a leader, or a king, keeps their power out of respect, fear, or structure. What begins as a position given by structure must turn into one maintained by respect, or a collapse is inevitable.
The structure gave Rehoboam his position, and he worked at maintaining it through fear. It did not work then, and it does not work today.
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