Labor to Serve One Another

In the Come, Follow Me reading this week we have the story of King Rehoboam and the split between the tribes of Israel. The manual says this: “How would you describe the mistake King Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, made in 1 Kings 12:1–14? What Christlike attributes could have helped Rehoboam save his kingdom?” After King Solomon died, his son Rehoboam became king, and the people came to him with this request: “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.” Solomon had been very demanding of the people, just as the prophet Samuel had prophesied to them about how a king would act: “This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants” (1 Samuel 8:11-17). The kings, because of their pride, would force the people to work for them and give them money and service, and that is exactly what Solomon had done. He had build himself an incredibly magnificent palace, bigger than the temple itself, and by the end of his life had been filled with pride. He had exercised dominion over the people whom he forced to serve him and his hundreds of wives. So at the start of Rehoboam’s reign, the people hoped that he would be different than his father.

                Rehoboam asked the people for three days for him to consider their request. First, he went to the “old men” and consulted them, saying, “How do ye advise that I may answer this people?” They answered him this way, “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.” In other words, they encouraged him to listen to the people and to seek to serve them instead of be served by them, and they would be faithful to him. This was very wise counsel, but unfortunately Rehoboam did not listen: “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: 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? 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. 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 12:8-11). In other words, they encouraged him to be even harsher and more demanding to the people than Solomon had been, and Rehoboam listened to this very unwise counsel and was cruel towards his people. He thought he would be a great king by exercising control and dominion over them. Rehoboam did not understand that true greatness comes by serving others as Jesus would later teach: “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:25-27). The Savior showed us that a true leader is one who serves, and the greatest people are those who serve and love others. If Rehoboam could have had some humility and love as the Savior taught, the history of the Israelites might have been very different. Because of Rehoboam’s cruelty towards his people, Jeroboam led away ten of the tribes of Israel and they split from Judah. This led to a division between the two groups that lasted for hundreds of years.

This story is a reminder to us that the greatest leaders are not those with the most power and control but rather those who serve and love and minister. If we want to have influence over other people, the best way is not by trying to control them but rather by trying to love and serve them like King Benjamin did in the Book of Mormon who told his people: “I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne…. Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God. And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another?” (Mosiah 2:14-18) The story of Rehoboam and the words of King Benjamin remind us that instead of trying to control others to gain influence, indeed we ought to labor to serve one another!