1 Samuel 8:10. "So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking a king from him." The words Samuel spoke were a warning from God about what having a king would mean to the people. Samuel told them a king would take their sons as soldiers and their daughters as servants. He would take thousands to be in his army, make his weapons, till his grounds, and reap his harvest. He would take the best of their vineyards and fields and orchards. He would tax the people, taking a tenth of their grain and vineyards, and the best of their livestock. The people did not listen, though, and demanded a king "that we also may be like all the nations." (1 Samuel 8:11-20).

The Israelites had no need of a king - they had God who saw to their every need and guided them in the way they should go. But they insisted on having one, even after Samuel laid out the loss of their children, goods, and freedom that would mean. They wanted to be like everyone else, they wanted a mighty king to lead them into battle. So after trying to warn them and getting nowhere, God gave them what they wanted and, while they had one great king in David, and several other good kings, for the most part things went badly for them from then on. Kings are human, and power easily corrupts humans. It would have been so much better for Israel had they just stuck with God.

I don't know why we human beings can be so stubborn and short-sighted, but we are. We do this on a personal level all the time, I know I have. I have done or grasped at things that I knew had risks, or downsides, but I truly wanted to do or have them, and everyone else was doing or had them, so I didn't stop to discern, but just acted. Very often I regret it, either in the short run or after a long time. It would be one thing if I truly weighed the pros and cons and made the best decision possible for myself, divorced from any feelings of envy, greed, fear,  etc., but often I didn't even stop to count the cons - I didn't listen, just like the Israelites, who "refused to listen to the voice of Samuel." (1 Samuel 8:19).

It is bad enough when we do this individually, often hurting ourselves and those around us, but it is terrible when we do it collectively, as the Israelites did here. This decision to have a king led to suffering that lasted throughout the history of the Jews. National decisions that are undebated or undiscerned come with great consequences. When people who are trying to warn of the downsides are ignored, or silenced, so much the worse. We must always listen for the guidance of God, often speaking through others, and debate and discern our decisions, taking future generations and long-term impacts into consideration, and not just our immediate wants.

God will sometimes give us what we want, even if it is not what we need, but He will not spare us the consequences, especially when He tried to warn us through his prophets and we dismissed them.