Today's readings are Psalm 24.7-10, 1 Samuel 8.1-22, and Acts 21.15-36.
Samuel gives the people of Israel a stern warning from the Lord. If they desire a king, if they desire to be like all the other nations, they will have everything that the other nations have. This includes high taxes, an oppressive government, and loss of freedom for families to govern their own affairs. The national central power will increase and with it the people will be forced to go to war more often. Do the people of Israel really want this? As it turns out, they do, and they end up having every one of the conditions God warned them of.
So what do we want? Do we really want to be imitators of our larger, unbelieving society? Do we want conformity to the sexual ethos that leads to fragmented families and a continual lack of trust in married couples? Do we really want to solve our conflicts by waiting and seeing if they just go away? Do we want to live like that? I think not.
May we be imitators of Christ, not being conformed to this world.
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