Look Before You Leap: Things May Not Be As Good As They Seem

1 Samuel 8: 4-20

Fear and anxiety. We all know what that is like. For those who have managed to go through life in relative calm, for the most part unruffled by the events of our societies and world, the pandemic that we have been facing over the past year plus, would have severely tested and even shattered that calm. For many throughout the world, it was and still is a time of real fear and anxiety. And as is often the case when faced with such heightened anxiety and fear, many sought and are seeking answers and relief from questionable sources and in questionable ways.

Fear and anxiety can cloud our judgement.

In our scripture reading today, the elders of Israel went to their priest and leader, the prophet Samuel with a deeply troubling request. In the face of increasing threats, they were losing faith in their form of leadership. Fear and anxiety ran high. Samuel, their trusted priest and leader, was growing old, and neither of his sons came close to providing the moral or religious leadership needed to navigate the internal and external threats to the nation. In their fear and anxiety, they felt that if they were to survive as a nation, they needed a different kind of leadership. The kind of leadership that seemed to be working well for the nations that were posing a threat to them. They felt that they needed what those nations had: a king. A king who would take control, and who would organize and employ a military capable of defending them against their foes. For them, having a king simply made sense, given what was happening and what they feared. So they said to Samuel, "You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations."

“But all that glitters is not gold.” Things may not be as good as they seem, and the grass is not always greener on the other side.

When the elders of Israel went to Samuel with their request for a King, Samuel, as he always did, turned to God, and God instructed him to listen to the people, and to warn them about the costs of having a king. So, Samuel warned the people of the dangers.

He told them: "These will be 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 courtiers.

He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers.

He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work.

He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.”

“And in that day”, says Samuel, “you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day.

But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said “No! we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

They were warned that with a King comes loss of autonomy, freedom and rights. Conditions under a king would be akin to slavery. But more important than all of that, was the fact that the request for a King was not a rejection of Samuel and his leadership; it was a rejection of God. The irony of it all was that they were rejecting the God who had delivered their ancestors from slavery and made them a free people, in exchange for a king who would oppress and enslave them.

Fear and insecurity have a way of eroding memory and clouding judgement, so Samuel’s warnings go unheeded. The people insisted on having a King, with little regard for the cost, all because having a king seems to be working for other nations.

In times of fear, desperation, or anger - as we seek for a way out, it is not uncommon for us to see what we want to see, and to hear what we want to hear. We may not realize it at the time, but our judgement can be clouded by our feelings. We can easily look past the pitfalls inherent in our choices, close our eyes and ears to the evidence of harm that such choices have caused others, and we can refuse to listen to reason as we seek to justify our decisions.

There are times when as individuals, as church, as a nation, we find ourselves at a crossroads; a point at which crucial decisions must be made that will have far-reaching consequences. Sometimes we find ourselves at that crossroads feeling fearful and anxious and insecure. As we seek to find the way forward, we can look at others and how they are faring, and from our position of fear and insecurity, we can see things that make it appear that they are doing much better that we are; that the grass is greener on their side.

Maybe it is greener, and we can learn from that. Or maybe it isn’t, and we can learn from that too – we can learn what not to do. All around us, there are many different examples of how to structure our lives, fashion our relationships, respond to the issues of the day and live out our faith. But that does not mean that we can just pick one simply because it seems to be working for others. It doesn’t mean that we should just pick one because we are desperate.

As people of faith, we need to understand that we are who we are because we have answered the call of God. The call to be in loving relationship with God, with one another and with all of creation. And to say yes to the call of God MUST mean something. In Fact it should mean EVERYTHING for us. It should focus our thinking and motivate our actions.

The elders of Israel wanted Israel to be like other nations; dependent on their own might and power. But they were not like other nations, they were the chosen people of God, and that should have determined how they structured their lives, fashioned their relationships, and responded to the issues of the day. That should have determined to whom they look for guidance. But they seemed to have forgotten that, and were looking elsewhere.

We are people of faith, we are called to be the Church, and we must be mindful of the possible dangers that may arise when we seek to pattern our lives after others, and to runs our affairs the way other institutions do. That is not to say that we cannot and should not learn from others. It is not to say that we should stand aloof and think of ourselves as better than others. Such pride and arrogance is not of God and has no place among the people of God. Rather it is to say that if seek in any way to be like others, whoever they may be and whatever it may involve, we must be mindful that it’s not only about what we think we may gain – however desirable that may seem; it’s also about what we may be giving up in the process.

If we are not watchful, if we forget who we are as people of God, we can end up losing our way and, the very essence of our lives in exchange for that which seems good and attractive in others.

We have gone through a prolonged period of fear and anxiety, of change and uncertainty. The indications are that we are steadily emerging from that. As we move towards the light that’s emerging at the end of the COVID tunnel, or whatever other dark passage we have been going through, it is quite likely that we have been receiving a constant stream of ideas about what will change and should change; most of it well-meaning, and some of it I am sure will be quite useful.

But before we jump into anything, simply because it seems to be working well for others, let’s look before we leap.

Let’s look, not only at the perceived gains, but at the possible loss.

Let’s look, not only at the success of those behind the ideas we find attractive; let’s look to God who calls and fashions and empowers us.

In turning towards that which others had, the Israelites were turning away from God who had faithfully and effectively led them, and history records the consequences of so doing.

Let’s not make the same mistake.

As the demands for change become greater, as the ideas for change become more numerous and seem more attractive, as the pressure to fit-in mounts; let’s follow the path of love and obedience shown to us by Jesus. Let’s listen to the Spirit for guidance

Let look before we leap, for things may not be as good as they seem. And God knows when it’s not so.

Let’s seek and trust God’s guidance.

Thanks be to God.