II Chronicles 10

"If you will be kind to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever" (v7). Rehoboam was Israel's fourth king, and they felt little automatic loyalty to him. They had loved David for his courage, and Solomon had built the Temple. Wisely, the nation's elders advised Rehoboam to win the people's loyalty by kindness. But he rejected their advice in favor of oppression - and lost his kingdom.

Even God Himself (the King) wins us over by love, not harshness. It is His kindness that leads us to repentance (Rom 2:4).