Several years ago when my daughter Morgan was 5 or 6 years old she was playing with her brothers, sisters, and other good friends - some her age and others a little older. No one was listening to her as she was trying to control who was playing, what was being played, and how it was being played with!
Finally, one of the older kids asked her if she would like to be the boss, to which she eagerly replied, "Yes!" Loudly the older child told the rest of the rambunctious crowd that Morgan was now the boss! Morgan, grinning from ear to ear began to tell everyone what to do and how to play.
As I watched from a distance the kids began to over-obey and mocking Morgan did everything she wanted to a T, exclaiming, "Okay, your the boss!" Every single time she would say something they would reply, "Okay, your the boss!"
After just a few minutes of being the "boss" Morgan had had enough! She eventually burst into tears crying, "I don't want to be the boss anymore! I don't want to be the boss anymore!"
You see, for a brief happy time she had gotten what she had desired, but within just a few minutes realized the folly of what she had asked for. Granted the kids weren't as nice as they could have been, but at the same time she learned a valuable lesson - What I desire may not be what is best for me.
In I Samuel 8 the Israelites were through being ruled by God and His judges. They were ready for a king like other nations. [4] Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah [5] and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." - 1Sa 8:4-5 ESV
Unlike the shocking way that Morgan realized her folly when she got her way, the LORD graciously warns the children of Israel of the baggage that would come from being ruled by a king. Yet, their mind was made up. They desired a king and nothing was going to stop them from getting one. Thousands of years later, as we read through the litany of kings that divided Israel had there are only a handful for whom it could be written, "And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD".
God gave them what they wanted - although it wasn't best. Sobering reality, is it not?
So many applications could be made.
Finally, one of the older kids asked her if she would like to be the boss, to which she eagerly replied, "Yes!" Loudly the older child told the rest of the rambunctious crowd that Morgan was now the boss! Morgan, grinning from ear to ear began to tell everyone what to do and how to play.
As I watched from a distance the kids began to over-obey and mocking Morgan did everything she wanted to a T, exclaiming, "Okay, your the boss!" Every single time she would say something they would reply, "Okay, your the boss!"
After just a few minutes of being the "boss" Morgan had had enough! She eventually burst into tears crying, "I don't want to be the boss anymore! I don't want to be the boss anymore!"
You see, for a brief happy time she had gotten what she had desired, but within just a few minutes realized the folly of what she had asked for. Granted the kids weren't as nice as they could have been, but at the same time she learned a valuable lesson - What I desire may not be what is best for me.
In I Samuel 8 the Israelites were through being ruled by God and His judges. They were ready for a king like other nations. [4] Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah [5] and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." - 1Sa 8:4-5 ESV
Unlike the shocking way that Morgan realized her folly when she got her way, the LORD graciously warns the children of Israel of the baggage that would come from being ruled by a king. Yet, their mind was made up. They desired a king and nothing was going to stop them from getting one. Thousands of years later, as we read through the litany of kings that divided Israel had there are only a handful for whom it could be written, "And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD".
God gave them what they wanted - although it wasn't best. Sobering reality, is it not?
So many applications could be made.
What an important lesson to learn, and one that we all discover sooner or later. It reminds me of C.S. Lewis's famous quotation from THE GREAT DIVORCE, "There are only two kinds of people in the end: Those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'"
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