They replied, “Today if you will be a servant to this people and serve them, and if you respond to them by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”
1 KINGS 12:7 (CSB)

_____________________________________________________________________________

Impatience ruins just about everything. Proverbs 16:32, one of the sayings Solomon collected to instruct his son says, “Patience is better than power, and controlling one’s emotions, than capturing a city.” Rehoboam must have been daydreaming when Solomon taught this lesson. 

Patience reminds us that there is more to life than this moment in time. Every future moment is shaped to some degree by how we respond now. The Butterfly Effect is set in motion by how well we manage our emotions. 

Emotional intelligence enhances conversations. It improves productivity. It helps people get along. 

Rehoboam did not listen to the wise advice of his father’s advisors. His father was the wisest man who ever lived. His advisors spent years in his company and knew what to say and do in all matters. Sadly, Rehoboam decided to show everyone he was rough, tough, and hard to bluff. He chose the pathway of power.

Read the rest of this chapter and you discover the only proper response to Rehoboam’s power play is “Oops.” He lost nearly everything. 

Today, each one of us will have the opportunity to practice our emotional intelligence. We get to choose between power and patience. What would Jesus do?

Every leadership lesson Jesus taught was about patience and service. Jesus would take the pathway of patience. He would want us to do the same. Those without patience and other characteristics of emotional intelligence rule over increasingly less. 

Listen to Rehoboam’s advisors who served Solomon for so long.

1. Serve people with your words and actions.
2. Speak kindly to them.
3. Practice patience instead of power. 

_____________________________________________________________________________

I will live an increasingly emotionally intelligent life.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Our Father, empower me to live with patience when I would prefer power. Give me kind words when I would prefer harsh responses. Give me a servant spirit toward everyone I meet. Amen.