Living in the Spirit

July 27, 2023

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?’

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.

In my other avocation of advocacy, I have been trying to understand how our governance got to where it is from where it began. I have realized that our beginning as a nation was just as chaotic as the current status.  How do we discern truth, and how do we advocate for it? Most of the people I know who have very different viewpoints than I have are as certain that they know the truth as I am. How do we find common ground for the Common Good? More importantly, how do we understand that our future will be driven by our finding that common ground? We must also realize that finding the Common Good is not like an economic deal caught in a power struggle on which many of our governmental decisions are made. We trade what is good for “we the people” for what is good for the 1%.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in our discourse with others. Lead us to the understanding that guides us toward your Kingdom here on earth.. 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.