1 Samuel 8:17-20 [17] He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. [18] And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.” [19] Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, [20] that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. The Israelites refused to listen to Samuel’s God-given advice and soon were saddled with a less than satisfactory ruler, Saul. Wanting to be like the other nations, they clamored for a king and found out the hard way that what they wanted wasn’t necessarily what they needed. God’s dealings with his people suggest two lessons. First, we undermine our spiritual growth whenever we reject wise counsel (Psalm 106:15). Second, the constant pressure to be like everybody else makes it difficult to gain freedom and experience God’s will for our lives. God may even allow us to have our own way in a situation so he can show us the ultimate folly of it.