From today’s reading...
The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel’s warning and said,
‘Not so! There must be a king over us.
We too must be like other nations,
with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare
and fight our battles.’”
I love hearing the talking heads proclaim..."That's not how they do it in France...or Germany...or Japan!"
Or when they say..."Other U.N. member nations do not approve of our stance on (insert the emergency du jour)."
Or when 100 dudes grow beards together and wear "Lions. Not Sheep." t-shirts to a conference to prove how unique and strong and independent they are without ever realizing the real lion, who sold them the t-shirt and access to his group, is not wearing one of those sheep shirts...because he's the only lion. They are his sheep.
We all want to be different and unique and stand out and be noticed for our excellence...until we realize how hard we have to work to get there and to stay there. And until we notice how exposed and susceptible we are to attack.
That's when we realize it really is lonely at the top.
That's when the true leaders rise to the occasion.
Samuel was that true leader. He took his problems to God and God gave the elders of Israel what they asked for and they soon regretted it. But that's a topic for another day.
Today, recognize you already have the King of Kings as your king, because it's the only way to...
Stay the course.
Keep the faith.
Endure.
