Stealing The Hearts Of People…

In our current state of politics, one might question, “is this new”? I would answer, “no, it’s not new”. Modern day politicians say whatever is necessary to manipulate people in order to get votes. I remember growing up and realizing that it was common among a certain political party to take polls, asking people what was important to them, issues they felt were paramount. The politicians would then change their platform to include these issues. It sounds good, but when polls changed, so would their platforms. It became a popularity contest instead of what the politician actually believed. And so we come to today’s topic, stealing the hearts of people. Absalom did just that. He played the people to turn against his father the king. He undermined his father’s wisdom, power, and jurisdiction. He told the people what they wanted to hear. He changed his platform to what was popular. He flipped-flopped on the issues. He thus, manipulated the hearts and minds of the people. Does this sound familiar? Does it sound just like a modern day politician? If you’re not familiar with the outcome of this story, it doesn’t turn out good. Both sides lose in this situation. And it eventually costs Absalom his life. When you manipulate people, it can seem to work in your favor, but in the end, it’s you that gets played. Stealing hearts is only temporary. You can only deceive someone for so long. The question you must ask is this, "what do you do with the peoples' hearts once you've stolen them"? When people realize what’s happened, they will turn on you, and everything you gained from this deceptive practice will be lost, including your reputation.

1 After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him. 2 He got up early every morning and went out to the gate of the city. When people brought a case to the king for judgment, Absalom would ask where in Israel they were from, and they would tell him their tribe. 3 Then Absalom would say, “You’ve really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the king doesn’t have anyone to hear it. 4 I wish I were the judge. Then everyone could bring their cases to me for judgment, and I would give them justice!”5 When people tried to bow before him, Absalom wouldn’t let them. Instead, he took them by the hand and kissed them. 6 Absalom did this with everyone who came to the king for judgment, and so he stole the hearts of all the people of Israel. 2 Samuel 15:1-6