Living in the Spirit
July 23, 2020
Scripture Reading:
1 Kings 3:5-12
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask what I should give you.’ And Solomon said, ‘You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart towards you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?’ –1 Kings 3:5-10
What part does “the people” a leader serves play in how the leader rules? Politicians often win because they say what they discern the people want to hear whether they act on it in office or not. Sometimes our elected leaders legislate what the people want when it is not the best thing for either the people or society in general. It takes a brave office holder to explain the reality of what is desired against what the outcome might be. During the current pandemic, I have heard the unemployment office being criticized for having an antiquated computer system that cannot handle the volume of work required with all the layoffs. Health departments are being criticized for having out-of-date systems so we can have the latest data regarding COVID-19. I can assure you that neither state nor federal agencies wanted to work with old systems. In Oklahoma, the failure to maintain adequate infrastructure is the result of years of tax cuts backed by the people who now do not understand why they are standing in line for hours to get unemployment.
Solomon asked God for an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people? Perhaps Solomon’s wisdom was seeing the difficulty of the task. Transparency and truth are the keys to a successful community. In the final analysis, government is a formalization of communities at every level. God calls us to a society where we not only consider what is best for ourselves but what is best for all God’s children. Ultimately what is right for others is also good for ourselves when we can see the bigger picture of a righteous and just world.
Prayer: Lord, we too ask for understanding minds to discern between good and evil, which will help us support our government officials who work for righteousness and justice. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.