Be Careful What You Wish For

"Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." 1 Samuel 8:10-22

God continually amazes me. "Give them a king, if that is what they want," (my paraphrase) the Lord tells Samuel. Even after he told them what a ruler would do, the people still wanted one. Why?----Because that's what the "other" nations had!

Never mind that "the other nations," (Philistines, Amorites, etc) were constantly trying to kill them. Never mind their neighbors worshipped false gods that told them to sacrifice their children! Never mind that Yahweh had brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and gave them a beautiful land with bountiful resources. No. they wanted to be like "the other nations."

Does this sound vaguely familiar. I can hear a politician now, "Elect me and I will make sure that we are "respected" again by the rest of the world." Why do we keep listening? Why would we want to be like nations who have forgotten their Christian roots; where beautiful churches are empty, turned into museums, theaters and mosques and God is no longer relevant to them?

"Let them have a king to lead them," God said. I believe he cried that day because he knew how it would turn out. I believe he is beginning to cry again in 2008.

My prayer. Father, forgive us for wanting false gods and putting our trust in rulers and governments over You. This election year help us to choose leaders who fear You and who will not place their trust and our future in the world. Help us to realize that You are our King and that you will faithfully do what is best for us because you love us. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!