The Scriptures provide us with many examples of individuals and large collectives of people making poor decisions while thinking the decision is good. Even the people of the true God make the same mistakes. Such a situation is found in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel 8.
This chapter describes how the people of Israel—the people of the covenant—demanded that the prophet Samuel, who served as a judge of the people before God, give them a king. They desired a human figurehead to lead them rather than depending on God’s chosen representative. They wanted to be like the other nations of humanity. Now, this demand set up an unusual situation filled with nuances, considering that God himself was their king. It also shows how impatient humanity can get if immediate gratification isn’t forthcoming.
People want to see and feel the presence of their leaders; they want an experience in their day-to-day reality that the invisible God could not provide. God’s prophet-judges were diminutive figures living simple lives and dressing casually. There was nothing flashy to see, and they did not express superiority over the people; they were like the humble Son of God (Matthew 11:28–30; Isaiah 53:7; Philippians 2:5–11; Mark 10:45; 2 Corinthians 8:9; John 13:3–7; John 12:12–16). Then, as now, Jesus wasn’t enough, just as Samuel’s words, which never failed, weren’t enough then.
The Cost of Kingship
1 Samuel 8:7–9 shows us that God instructed Samuel to warn the people about what their request would cost them. He gives these warnings in verses 10–18, and these warnings reverberate to us in this very day:
“These are 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. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of 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 orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys and put them to work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slave.
And in that day, you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” — 1 Samuel 8:10–18 ESV
It is clear the people were warned that ultimately their choice for a king would backfire. While Samuel’s warning was for a people living thousands of years ago, it should not be difficult to update his warning for today. The common factor in the warning is “he will,” which implies the king or leader will do whatever he wants for his own gain. The leader’s gain will come at the people’s expense. These words were true then; those words are true today. It is more convenient to serve a human leader than to serve the living God.
Why is this important?
There are always tensions between what God requires from us and what a human ruler desires. The very fact of placing someone in a ruler position invites temptations that few can successfully resist. If we recall, Saul, the first king of Israel, fell to temptation, desiring the wealth of the lands he was instructed to take nothing from. He forfeited his relationship with God, lost the Holy Spirit’s counsel, and lost the kingship. Each subsequent king struggled with the desire to have access to anything he wanted. We know the outcome: the kings led the people astray and away from God, resulting in a divided kingdom and the eventual loss of the kingdom to foreign powers. This demonstrates that our motives may seem good in our own eyes but can hurt us if they lead us away from God.
America has decided and elected a leader. There was much hope placed on this human leader to make life better for some, but the plan failed to include all. The expectations were faulty to start, and worse, many Christian churches and leaders became enmeshed in the decision. In many ways, like the children of Israel, these Christian leaders and their followers chose human tools in an attempt to address their image of a good kingdom, even one they claimed was to be led by God.
I have said, and I say again, that true believers in Jesus will have to decide on whom they serve. As evil occurs around them and even in their churches, will they stay quiet and just go along for the ride, or will they stand for the gospel and the ways of our Lord and Savior? The opportunity to sit on the sidelines is rapidly closing, and we should not desire to be trapped on the wrong side. These things are real, and the threats are great.
He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. — Proverbs 14:31
Hard Choices
American Christians are embroiled in the same matters and definitions used by unbelievers that are popular at the time. Depending on the perspective, everyone is conveniently labelled a liberal progressive, which translates to a Democrat, or a conservative regressive, which translates to a Republican. These definitions take on more intense and insulting meaning when translated as “woke” or “MAGA”. For true believers, we should be ashamed to get caught up in such labelling, as it only works to divide and maintain a barrier between the them-versus-us camps. No reasoning or shared ideas can occur once the shields are up. These things are the types of creations the enemy brings to divide and destroy, not build up.
I understand how difficult it has become to discuss active issues that are masked in political battles and are used to create dominance and confusion within a society. Many have held long-standing positions and labels based on generational beliefs passed on and cultural norms. None of this expresses the truth of Jesus without some taint or another. The pure gospel, undefiled by fallen humanity, isn’t a cultural or social concept, as it comes from above in the heavens and not from a worldly construction, nor is it understood by those with worldly minds. It does not ring with human logic, as it wasn’t created by humans.
The apostle Paul constantly chastised the churches he planted, reminding them of human values and how easily they were caught up in the latest controversies. These things display a level of infancy and will not allow advancement into maturity. Given the topic and link I provided in the introduction, the churches of Minnesota are confronted with members in their churches who are suspected of being undocumented and are physically being dragged out of their places of worship by government agents. This is a highly controversial subject that few desire to consider, but these things are precisely what believers are called to consider. We must frame these issues by asking what the things of Jesus share with the actions of government. Who do we obey, the government or Christ, when there is a legitimate conflict? Is there a conflict in this situation?
What is legal by law may not be right by God; what is right with God may not be legal by the laws of humanity.
We do not argue about the forces or the government’s right to act on its own accord, and if the actions aren’t violations of the principles and teachings of the scriptures and the gospel, we have no official say in the matter. However, if the actions involve the churches and those within the churches, then the matter does become a spiritual issue and should become the concern of the churches; they must move to support what is right in the situation.
This is why I warn that the closer the churches merge their spiritual interests with those of leadership or kings, the more complicated it becomes for the churches to remain untainted and pure. It is difficult to denounce the actions of a king or ruler if the churches have aligned themselves with the ruler and given their support to the leader’s policies. This is a colossal trap laid by Satan that is amazingly effective indeed.
In a democratic-leaning society, taking sides on issues can lead to compromised behaviours that are inconsistent with the ways of Jesus. In America today, both sides can retain some good policies wrapped in a blanket of horrible policies. Once these good principles become disconnected or assigned to one side’s perspective, they cannot be considered valid by the opposing side. We must consider that what is right and good is never subject to being divided by human preferences but belongs to God and his definition. There are no such things as a woke right or a MAGA right. There is only right and wrong.
To be candid, policy positions that oppose killing babies and oppose the promotion of sexual fluidity should not be wrapped in policies that hurt the poor, oppose the stranger, or treat others as different from yourself unjustly. Policies that promote fairness, support a social safety net for widows and unmarried mothers of children, do not seek the accumulation of money, do not cast aside the stranger or foreigner as having lesser value, and support global and environmental safety should not be considered evil because of other policies that are against biblical principles. Those things that are right are right, no matter the side that supports them; those things that are wrong are wrong, no matter the side of policy discussions. This also includes the passions and desires of kings.
For the spiritually mature, no one needs to spell out every incident, whether it is right or wrong, as the scriptures and the Spirit guide such determinations. For the immature still needing milk, teachings may have to be more direct to build skills in knowing the difference between what is right and what is wrong.
Conclusion
“Beware of kings” is a reasonable caution, as is “do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14); keeping oneself unstained from the world (James 1:27) is also practical spiritual advice all true believers must exercise with great care. Again, I warn that soon the choices we make in the name of Jesus will place us once again in harm’s way. However, to faithfully do so results in a crown of life and victory.