The King's Friends

admin Dec 9, 2019 2747 0

THE KING’S FRIENDS
(1st Kings 12: 1-19)
SCENE 1:
“Your Majesty, I can see you have
inherited the wisdom of your father,
the late King.
Coming to us for advice is proof you
have some degree of wisdom.
It is said that what the old man will
see sitting down, the young man
won’t see standing on tiptoes”,
Elder Elnathan submitted.
The King smiled. He was just crowned
king a few days ago. “Yes sir.
I have no idea how to be King- I mean,
I was born in royalty and I have attended
the best Ivy League schools in the country,
but nothing really prepares you for the
office.
You were all my late father’s counselors
and advisers.
You were able to navigate the ship
of State so excellently with him,
the kingdom did not engage in a
single war or have any economic,
political or inter-tribal crisis all
through the reign of my late dad!”
The Elders were happy the new
King deemed them worthy of
counseling him.
Children of nowadays seem to think
they know it all.
But this young King is not like that.
His late father is lucky to have a wise
son take over the kingdom after him.
Elder Ahimelech cleared his throat.
He raised his hand to speak.
“Your Majesty, I thank God for your
choice.
The biggest failure is always a leadership
failure. Everything rises or falls on
leadership.
This is my advice: listen to the people.
You are only King because there is a
Kingdom.
If there is no Kingdom, if there are no people,
there won’t be a King.
Speak good words to them, identify with
them and reduce the weight they carry.
After all, the temple and the palace
have been built- you don’t need their
services anymore. Just enjoy the Kingship
and history will favor you”.
All the Elders agreed with Ahimelech.
The King thanked them and they
departed the Council Chamber.
He ruminated over their counsel for
a while.
These men were all over 80 years old.
They had experience.
They understood power, they understood
politics, they understood wisdom,
having been with his father for over
30 years.
But then, he remembered his father
married all kinds of women after his
mother, who ended up derailing his
heart and leading him to other gods.
He built altars to them. '
Where were these elders then?
What was their take on his father’s
indiscretions? Should I trust their
advice now? The King thought he
needed a second opinion: he picked
his phone and sent out a message
to his WhatsApp Group: his schoolmates.
He asked them all to come over to the
palace for dinner that evening…

SCENE 2:
That evening, the King hosted his
friends, 30 of them.
He told them of the request of the
people and the counsel of the Elders.
“Don’t mind them!
They’re just lazy! See, you have to
put your foot down.
You have to make them understand
you are your own man and break
away from your father’s shadow.
Your dad was an excellent King,
but you can establish your own
trajectory!
Remember your dad simply used
his kingship to fulfil his own father’s
dream, he had no vision, goal or plan
for himself.
That is not the best way to be King!
You must understand that power is
not given: it is taken!”
The King nodded in agreement.
Michal made a lot of sense.
Pashur added, “Dude, this is an
opportunity of a lifetime.
Your father taxed the people and
they did it willingly.
He sold God to them! I want to build
a temple for God, he told them.
And they gave their money and
time to the project.
But your dad was one smart guy!
he took advantage of the people’s
gullibility- he used them to build
the temple of God for 7 years,
but they spent 13 years to build
this palace! '
Learn from your dad, use God
to make more money from them!”
This made more sense to The King:
use your position to enrich yourself.
What is the use of a poor and broke King?
The wealthier you are the more
respect you get! But there was a
problem: His father had built the
Temple and the Palace.
How could he justify taxing them again?
He asked the question. Ahishar smiled.
Of all the King’s friends, he was the
craftiest. “My guy, are you a learner?
Just tell them you want to be doing
Annual Conferences!
Tell them you will invite speakers from
all over the world!
You will need to do publicity and
awareness drive.
You will need to give these big speakers
honorarium.
You will need to go live real-time online;
people can stream the event live for
the entire week of the program.
You can even tell them the temple
is old school. Architecture is dynamic,
there are new technological breakthroughs
in construction today.
You want to modernize the temple and
make it befitting for God.
You have to think smart to make
money, dude!”
See why the King loved these guys?
They were so street smart, unlike
those old men who don’t even know
how to operate a computer or use a
remote control! The King took the
advice of his friends…

SCENE 3:
Next day, the King held a meeting
with the Labor Union leaders.
He had to make them know he was
THE BOSS!
He was very different from his father.
He laid down his marker and told
them their work WILL NOT be reduced!
'They have to work HARDER!
It is their Social Responsibility!
The Labor Union President could not
believe what he just heard.
“But, your Majesty…”
The King cut him short, “Don’t but me! '
My little finger is thicker than my
father’s waist!
I AM the King, not you- and my word is law!
You have no choice in this matter.
Have a nice day, gentlemen!”
And The King got up and left the
meeting with much arrogance.
He smiled to himself. He was happy
with his drama- now these people
will understand he is not to be '
messed with! He is the KING;
they need to be reminded of that!