saul or david for president?
in no way am i referring to the book Jesus for President. the title just popped into mind.
rereading through the Old Testament has really opened my eyes to how very flawed and broken the people God used were. how very unlikely candidates they seemed to be. i think we often overlook these flaws. i mean sure, we see the flaws: murder, lies, adultery, idolatry, but we don't really think about these flaws in relation to the offices God placed them in. for example, moses, the friend of God, one whom God spoke face to face to, who led the Israelites out on their epic exodus from Egypt, had started out as a murderer. if the exodus of the Israelites took place today, and we had a say in who was going to lead them out, would we have chosen moses for the job? yeah, he was the great prince of Egypt who was probably the favored candidate to be pharoah next, but he killed someone! what if the israelites got into an argument with him (which they did many times) & he decides to murder them just like he did that egyptian? then it wouldn't be the exodus of the israelites, but the exodus of moses the israelite. that'd be a bit risky. but God chose him, and he became one of the greatest leaders of all time. there's never been another like him.
the stark contrast between what God looks at and sees in humans versus what we see led me to reflect on what if saul and david's story took place today. complete with paparrazzi and media portrayals. &instead of being kings, they were presidents. we've got saul: tall, handsome, goodly guy (1 samuel 9:2). kind of godly i suppose, at least he started out that way. a good leader who could round up his people to fight against the enemy. but then saul disobeys God over&over again, &starts doing things his own way. he also goes kind of insane. but he is the type of king people would pick.
now enter: david. youngest of eight. mere boy shepherd. plays the harp. writes poetry. anointed as king, i mean president. i wonder, if david were a candidate for our presidency, would we have elected him? would we have reelected him for a second term? or would we have ousted him? first we hear that God has anointed this boy shepherd, with no experience militarily and politically & in terms of leadership, his minions are sheep. talents? harp playing & poetry making. with that kind of a resume, we'd never elect david to be our president. &then after he's anointed, he doesnt even go up to saul & oust him from his office. maybe we'd find him to be a coward, maybe we'd see him as just a big joke. but then! david defeats the 9 feet giant with mere stones & a slingshot! that gives him plus points. maybe we'd elect him now. however, saul gets jealous & tries to kill the poor boy, so he disappears &goes on the run. &the only news we hear of him after he disappears is how he travels with four hundred social rejects & went to live in enemy territory. mm not a good record. but let's say we elect him anyway! i'd bet we'd oust him after hearing of his committing adultery with his soldier's wife, and then murdering that soldier to cover up everything (the soldier was one of his best too!). he also had too many wives & sons &wasnt the greatest father. his son rapes his daughter &then his other son kills the offending son. then that son tries ousting his father &taking over the country. that failed, fortunately. but then at the end of his life, david's other son tries taking over the country again. time &time again, david does nothing to discipline his sons. if he were alive today, the tabloids would love him for the stories they could sell on him.
on the surface, david's life is filled with many areas of failure. though he was a great warrior & a godly man, if we &the media were to review david's life, we'd never suggest him as a candidate for the presidency. sure he loves God &has immense faith in God, but honestly, today that counts for nothing, even among some christians, sadly. we look at the same qualifying factors as the rest of the nonchristian world does: leadership? experience? looks? resume? achievements? these all hold more weight than a pure heart after God's very own heart.
some might say "but that was then, this is now. it's different today. we've still got to look at leadership & experience." but that's a lie that the devil & this world tells us. it makes us believe that what makes people great is their achievements &accomplishments. it makes us believe the lie that God is looking for an accomplished, well rounded, goodly leader who will do great things for Him, when God is actually looking for ordinary people who would allow Him to do great things through them. (1corinthians 1:18-31) "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 samuel 16:7)
we often gloss over the command to "not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (romans 12:2) we limit the command to such things as the chasing after fame, money, &power. but that's not all, we must also stop conforming to this world in terms of the way we view others, the way we hang out, the things we talk about, the things we let into our minds, the way we approach dating relationships & friendships, the words that come out of our mouths, etc.
i guess one way we can begin this transformation of our mind is to stop looking at everything that is wrong, the mistakes of our leaders &the ways in which we think they could do better because God hasn't placed us in authority, but we know that "there is no authority except that which God has established." (romans 13:1) &we are commanded not to critique them, but to make "requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving ... for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 timothy 2: 1-2).
rereading through the Old Testament has really opened my eyes to how very flawed and broken the people God used were. how very unlikely candidates they seemed to be. i think we often overlook these flaws. i mean sure, we see the flaws: murder, lies, adultery, idolatry, but we don't really think about these flaws in relation to the offices God placed them in. for example, moses, the friend of God, one whom God spoke face to face to, who led the Israelites out on their epic exodus from Egypt, had started out as a murderer. if the exodus of the Israelites took place today, and we had a say in who was going to lead them out, would we have chosen moses for the job? yeah, he was the great prince of Egypt who was probably the favored candidate to be pharoah next, but he killed someone! what if the israelites got into an argument with him (which they did many times) & he decides to murder them just like he did that egyptian? then it wouldn't be the exodus of the israelites, but the exodus of moses the israelite. that'd be a bit risky. but God chose him, and he became one of the greatest leaders of all time. there's never been another like him.
the stark contrast between what God looks at and sees in humans versus what we see led me to reflect on what if saul and david's story took place today. complete with paparrazzi and media portrayals. &instead of being kings, they were presidents. we've got saul: tall, handsome, goodly guy (1 samuel 9:2). kind of godly i suppose, at least he started out that way. a good leader who could round up his people to fight against the enemy. but then saul disobeys God over&over again, &starts doing things his own way. he also goes kind of insane. but he is the type of king people would pick.
now enter: david. youngest of eight. mere boy shepherd. plays the harp. writes poetry. anointed as king, i mean president. i wonder, if david were a candidate for our presidency, would we have elected him? would we have reelected him for a second term? or would we have ousted him? first we hear that God has anointed this boy shepherd, with no experience militarily and politically & in terms of leadership, his minions are sheep. talents? harp playing & poetry making. with that kind of a resume, we'd never elect david to be our president. &then after he's anointed, he doesnt even go up to saul & oust him from his office. maybe we'd find him to be a coward, maybe we'd see him as just a big joke. but then! david defeats the 9 feet giant with mere stones & a slingshot! that gives him plus points. maybe we'd elect him now. however, saul gets jealous & tries to kill the poor boy, so he disappears &goes on the run. &the only news we hear of him after he disappears is how he travels with four hundred social rejects & went to live in enemy territory. mm not a good record. but let's say we elect him anyway! i'd bet we'd oust him after hearing of his committing adultery with his soldier's wife, and then murdering that soldier to cover up everything (the soldier was one of his best too!). he also had too many wives & sons &wasnt the greatest father. his son rapes his daughter &then his other son kills the offending son. then that son tries ousting his father &taking over the country. that failed, fortunately. but then at the end of his life, david's other son tries taking over the country again. time &time again, david does nothing to discipline his sons. if he were alive today, the tabloids would love him for the stories they could sell on him.
on the surface, david's life is filled with many areas of failure. though he was a great warrior & a godly man, if we &the media were to review david's life, we'd never suggest him as a candidate for the presidency. sure he loves God &has immense faith in God, but honestly, today that counts for nothing, even among some christians, sadly. we look at the same qualifying factors as the rest of the nonchristian world does: leadership? experience? looks? resume? achievements? these all hold more weight than a pure heart after God's very own heart.
some might say "but that was then, this is now. it's different today. we've still got to look at leadership & experience." but that's a lie that the devil & this world tells us. it makes us believe that what makes people great is their achievements &accomplishments. it makes us believe the lie that God is looking for an accomplished, well rounded, goodly leader who will do great things for Him, when God is actually looking for ordinary people who would allow Him to do great things through them. (1corinthians 1:18-31) "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 samuel 16:7)
we often gloss over the command to "not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (romans 12:2) we limit the command to such things as the chasing after fame, money, &power. but that's not all, we must also stop conforming to this world in terms of the way we view others, the way we hang out, the things we talk about, the things we let into our minds, the way we approach dating relationships & friendships, the words that come out of our mouths, etc.
i guess one way we can begin this transformation of our mind is to stop looking at everything that is wrong, the mistakes of our leaders &the ways in which we think they could do better because God hasn't placed us in authority, but we know that "there is no authority except that which God has established." (romans 13:1) &we are commanded not to critique them, but to make "requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving ... for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 timothy 2: 1-2).
ohhh it went well! it went REALLY well actually.... it was just a MINOR hiccoup. :)
ReplyDeletei like this post! :)