The Sin of Rehoboam

I recommend you turn to your Bibles and read the 12th chapter of 1 Kings to see history repeating itself. King Rehoboam ignored his older and wiser counselors and took the advice of the young men who had grown up with him, who were telling the king what he wanted to hear. He told his people, "My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised [tortured] you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions [a type of whip equipped with points like a scorpion's tail]." Ten out of the twelve tribes of Israel decided they had enough and set up the kingdom of Israel under the leadership of Jeroboam.

In our own day, Lurita Doan at Townhall.com describes how President Obama has appointed White House staffers who lack experience but are rabidly loyal to him, with predictable results.

"In April of 2009, President Obama made a key decision to dramatically expand and extend the role of White House Staffers, giving them the power and responsibility to intervene in just about every decision throughout the federal government. Though hardly noticed at the time, Obama directed that Office of the White House Public Liaison be renamed as the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, headed by his friend and political confidant, Valerie Jarrett. The many new Liaisons were recruited from the most fervent young campaign workers, all of whom were fervent Obama supporters, but who had limited experience in government or in the work of the many agencies in which they would be imbedded.

"Inevitably, these new, young and inexperienced White House Liaison officers too often redirected the work of career government servants to meet more expedient political needs of the Obama Administration. The result has been a disaster...."

EDITOR'S NOTE: Even in the Army, which has never been a democracy, I have seen autocratic officers and senior enlisted Soldiers make themselves irrelevant by resorting to threats and coercion too frequently. If people cannot work with them, they will work around them.