Leaders must connect with only one person at a time even in a large auditorium. Yet our leaders are no longer connecting, they are using the large auditoriums as a an amplifier for their harsh words and rhetoric. They demanded our alliance. These speeches are for "crowds," not for individuals. The words are not meant to connect with anyone personally. There is a danger of loving crowds, when the voice is not able to relate to the transformation of one person. Jesus was able to speak to great multitudes but he descended from the pulpit and healed and touched the afflicted hearts.

Our leaders must touch the heart before the head, the relationship precedes the results. Those in power should initiate the connection with others, and not expect them to bare the weight of communication.

This reminds me of Jeroboam. There was a great deal of confrontation with Israel, which occurred because Jeroboam and the people came up from Egypt. Rehoboam (Rehoboam was king only of the Kingdom of Judah) did not start any communication with them. Instead he sat down and waited for them to come to him. He reacted instead of triggering the dialog. And he never connected with anyone.

Does this have a bearing on our situation today?

What practical principles can we learn from this, from his attitude?

Instead of talking, he should have listened. We never see him listening intently, only getting what he wanted to hear and always talking. Instead of showing greed, he should have shown generosity. He was a man bewitched with power. That removed him from people and many options for good advice.
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It was political maneuvering, rather than protecting his image, he should have protected his integrity.

What interested him was being accepted and putting on an image of relentlessness. He wanted to be feared. But you cannot rule through fear. The desire to be feared rather than respected is one that is but an illusion.

Instead of showing control, he must have shown compassion. His scolding and stern attitude was, according to him, to better control the people. But you can never control God's people with sticks and threats.

Instead of developing a selfish heart, he should have developed a heart of a servant. A servant to the public.

He only thought of himself, of his kingdom, and how to keep what Solomon had left him. They were there to feed his own petty interests and hunger for power. Instead of seeing through his own eyes focused on his own goals, he should have looked through the eyes of others.

Instead of falling in love with power, he should have fallen in love with God.

All the great men and women of God have one thing in common. Simply put: They connect with people. Connecting with people is the responsibility of the one who influences. Are our policy makers connecting with us?