Living in the Spirit

May 31, 2021

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 8:4-11

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.’ But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to govern us.’ Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.’

So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, ‘These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots;

Are politics and faith like oil and water, or do they blend easily? Nations led by kings surrounded Israel. Some in Israel’s population thought they were disadvantaged by not having a king to do international business. Power and wealth dominate in such interchanges. Samuel was an intermediator with God for the people who had allowed their desires to drift toward those other gods that depend on human power and wealth. The problem here was not the type of governance. The problem was that the people’s vision for the world did not match God’s. God’s message to Samuel was to give them what they wanted and see if that sated their hunger.

We face the same challenge today. Some redefine God’s vision to match their ideals. Many withdraw from any relationship with God. Others are so turned off by what is represented as God’s vision they withdraw from beliefs and practices that seem alien to their understanding of God. The number of people in the USA who identify as Christian has dropped 12% to 65% over the last decade*. Less than that is actively engaged in practicing their faith.

Jesus called us to take his good news to the ends of the earth. We may also need to bring that good news home. To do that, we must reconnect with what Jesus’s good news is.

Prayer: Lord, restore our ministry to serve you more nearly. Amen.

*https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/

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.