“Don’t tell me what to do,” Edward said, impatiently. “I know how!”

Alice sighed. “If you think you’re so smart—” she began. Grandpa entered the room and Alice stopped, then said, “Grandpa, Edward won’t listen to me. He thinks he knows how to play the piano, but he doesn’t.”

“Well now, that does remind me of a story,” Grandpa said, taking a seat. “It is a true story about….”

An Arrogant Decision

(Reference: 2 Chronicles 10.)

It was time for the prince of Israel to be crowned king. His father, “the wisest man who had ever lived,” was dead and the kingdom of Israel was now his. A great kingdom, Rehoboam thought proudly, as the people gathered before him. And now it is all mine to do with as I please.

But the people were restless and a bold man stepped to the front of the crowd. “We have a request to make, O King,” he said, looking Rehoboam straight in the eye. “Your father made our service hard. If you will lighten this oppression, and the demands he put upon us, we will serve you.”

The crowned head tipped slightly. “Come for your answer in three days,” he said.

The crowds dispersed and Rehoboam made his plans. “Lighten this oppression,” indeed! Who do they think I am? But a king ought to take counsel on such decisions, he thought. His father’s wise men were called into the courtroom. They were old men; men who had always been trusted. Maybe too much, Rehoboam thought, and narrowed his eyes. “What do you suggest that I should answer?” he asked.

“If you are kind to the people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever,” one said. His eyes looked tired and his beard quivered.

What does an old man know! Rehoboam sneered. He is outdated and surely losing his mind. I need to show them a firm hand, not speak wimpy “good words.” So the new king turned from the old men and called in his personal friends. They were daring and bold—just the sort of fellows that would agree with Rehoboam’s ideas.

“What should you say?” cried a haughty young man. “Why, tell them that your little finger is thicker than your father’s waist. If he made their service hard, you will make it harder!” The courtroom filled with laughter, and Rehoboam sat back in his throne with a smile. Of course. Who were these people to complain against their king? He would show them who was boss and take the kingdom in hand!

The three days had passed and again the crowds gathered. The crowned king stood before his spacious palace in royal finery. As Rehoboam cast his eyes over the sea of faces he hardly noticed the bowed shoulders and dark looks. He didn’t care if they were tired of hardship and felt oppressed. “My father made your yoke heavy,” he said grandly, “but I will add thereto!” He knew how to rule a kingdom, didn’t he?

How sadly, he did not. The waiting people turned in disgust. The arrogance of this king was too much, and they shouted their defiance: “What do we care? This is every man for himself!” And so the blow fell that cut off the kingdom of Israel from Judah.

“He was mean,” Alice said. “I wouldn’t want to serve him, either!”

“Being arrogant is a poor way to live,” Grandpa agreed. “The Bible shows us that it is the humble-minded that do well.”

“What does ‘arrogant’ mean, Grandpa?” Edward asked.

“It means thinking that you know best, and that you don’t need help.”

Edward frowned. “I don’t like Alice telling me what to do—I like to do it myself. She always says, ‘I told you,’ when I do something wrong.”

“I see,” said Grandpa, thoughtfully. “So you would rather make the mistake and learn the hard way?” Edward didn’t answer, so Grandpa continued. “It is much better to have a humble and teachable attitude. It is when we protest and hold out for our own ideas that our pride gets hit the hardest.”

“What do you mean?” Edward was puzzled.

Grandpa stood up. “To be humble is to let your leaves fall so the wind can’t break your branches,” he said and walked to the door. “Come on, and I’ll show you.”