Readings for today: 1 Kings 12, 2 Chronicles 10
“If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” (1 Kings 12:7)
We have a leadership crisis in our world today. We see it in politics. We see it in business. We see it in the church. The prevailing model is ego-centric. It cares only for the accumulation of power and wealth and influence and control. It is self-promoting, self-protecting, and self-serving. It tends to attract abusers, predators, and narcissists. The hallmarks of arrogance, deceit, lust, greed are all present. And people are suffering as a result. It may be the abusive father who uses anger to make his wife and children cower. It may be the pastor who uses his position to prey on vulnerable women. It may be the politician who manipulates the gears in the system for his personal benefit. It may be the businessman who continues to rake in billions while taking away healthcare benefits for his employees. It was Lord Acton who once said, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” None of us are immune.
Solomon’s son rises to power after his father’s death. As he ascends the throne, he calls in his father’s counselors. Men who have overseen the most glorious chapter in Israel’s history. Men who have also witnesses the moral failings of the wisest king who ever lived. Their counsel to him is to back off. To give the people of Israel rest. They have spent a generation serving their king. Building cities. Serving in the army. Toiling without end. Fulfilling Solomon’s every whim. If Rehoboam will but honor them. Love them. Serve them. Consider their good above his own. They will be loyal forever. Sadly, Rehoboam chooses another path. One suggested by the young men who’ve grown up with him in the palace. They are privileged. Spoiled. Arrogant. Entitled. And they counsel him to try and outdo his father. The plan backfires spectacularly. Rehoboam loses 80% of his kingdom.
Of course, Jeroboam isn’t much better. Raised up by God to serve as king over ten of the tribes of Israel, one would think Jeroboam would remain faithful. But he is arrogant and afraid. A deadly combination no matter who you are. He is afraid he will lose his kingdom if he allows his people to worship Yahweh in the Temple. So he creates his own shrines to Yahweh. Golden calves representing the Lord. Perhaps following the example of King Solomon, he reduces Yahweh to yet another pagan deity. He sets his idols up in Dan and Bethel. Appoints his own priests. Establishes his own feast. Attempting to mirror what God has established for His people. The plan backfires spectacularly.
What would happen if we set our hearts to serve rather than be served? What would happen if we set our hearts to love rather than react out of fear? What if we responded to another person’s pain and suffering with compassion rather than dismissal and disdain? What if we honored one another as image-bearers of God rather than dehumanize and tear down those we don’t know? Can you imagine what the world might look like if instead of trashing Colin Kaepernick when he first took a knee, the NFL took the time to listen to his concerns? Worked with local law enforcement in the cities where they have franchises to develop community programs to help people? Used the wealth and power and influence of both owners and players to address systematic racism and implicit bias in our communities? Sadly, they chose to close ranks and defend their brand. Perhaps they’re an easy target. What about each one of us? What if instead of laughing at the racist or sexist jokes at work, we refused to tolerate them? What if we intentionally created space in our lives for those who are different than us? What if we listened more than we spoke? What if we simply called evil “evil” and good “good” rather than justify it because this or that person is “on our side” in the culture war? What if we stopped settling for the lowest common denominator in our national leaders? What if we stopped watching media outlets who only appeal to our basest emotions? What if we sought to serve in our homes, schools, communities, businesses, and churches?
I believe God is searching for men and women who will faithfully follow Him. Men and women who will deny themselves rather than promote themselves. Men and women whom the treasures of this world have no hold on because their treasure is already laid up in heaven. Men and women filled with the fruit and gifts of the Spirit. Men and women who embrace the way of Jesus who said in Matthew 20:28, “The Son of Man didn’t come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.”
Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 13-14, 2 Chronicles 11-12