Lessons Solomon Didn’t Learn 3

If you were to have asked Solomon, he would have probably said he did pretty well in this third area where he failed to learn what his mother, Bathsheba, taught him. As king, every day he considered the requests people brought and made judgments about what should be done. Like most of us, he never considered what the impact of his decisions might be. Notice Bathsheba’s instruction.

“Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9)

Most of us assume that, since there are no major protests, our decisions are approved by other people. The nation of Israel had only one major complaint about Solomon. The entire nation expressed it after Solomon’s death, when they were preparing to anoint his son Rehoboam as king. I Kings 12:3-4 states, “…And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, 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.”

Because he only heard an occasional grumble, Solomon assumed the taxes were not much of a problem for his people, and didn’t worry too much about raising them to do some new project. It never occurred to him that most people would not tell him how they felt. Some would not complain for fear of making him angry. Others didn’t bother because they felt he wouldn’t pay any attention any way. Others felt they had no access to the king and would never get a hearing. How serious and wide spread the dissatisfaction was only became obvious when Rehoboam refused to take the request seriously.

“So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.” (I Kings 12:16)

What he blew off as a minor issue was so serious to the people that they refused to allow him to be their king. When he tried to push it through anyway, they killed the man he sent to collect the taxes, and Rehoboam had to flee for his own protection.

Bathsheba’s instruction was to speak up for those who wouldn’t be heard, but were affected by the actions. A politician can decide to spend money with no consideration for the impact it has on the taxpayers, just as Solomon did. A pastor can make decisions for the church with no consideration for what the effect will be on the people. An employer can decide to restrict wages or require working overtime with no understanding of it’s effect on employees and their families. Parents may fail to recognize the effect their decisions may have on their families, and children may fail to realize what their actions have on their parents.

An employee may fear losing his job and not complain about having to work overtime. Church members may not dare speak out against the pastor’s decisions. Children may feel so powerless they don’t dare express their feelings. Peer pressure or cultural issues may cause parents to not speak out about children’s actions. That does not mean no one cares.

We need to learn to be considerate of those who may not complain but are affected by our decisions, and to minimize the hurt we cause. Old time doctors believed their primary responsibility was to do no harm. It should be our intent as well. Instead of greasing the squeaking wheel, we need to practice a little preventive maintenance, and make sure all of them are greased. By the time the wheel begins squeaking, the bearing has been damaged. Taking care of those who aren’t complaining can prevent that.