David's Radical Respect

Then David said to the young man who told him, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan
are dead?"...And the young man who told him said, "... He said to me, 'Stand beside me and kill me,
for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.' So I stood beside him and killed him, because
I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the
armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord."

Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they
mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the
LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword… David said to him, "How is
it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?" Then David called one of
the young men and said, "Go, execute him." And he struck him down so that he died. And David said
to him, "Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed
the LORD's anointed.'"   - 2 Samuel 1:5-16

While we don’t go around anointing our country leaders in the United States, I feel like this passage still
speaks volumes about how we should regard our leadership. If you go back and read the book of
1 Samuel, you’d see that David doesn’t have a great relationship with Saul. For years, David has been
on the run and in hiding because Saul has been actively trying to murder him.

Any of us in that situation would probably respond with “He’s dead? FINALLY.” But David? Despite the
fact that his life is no longer being threatened, he knows the role of the king. Saul was God’s chosen
leader for Israel for that time period. While David may well have been relieved to not have to flee Saul,
he looked past his own interests and towards the interests of God, who both condemns murder and
raised Saul up to be king.

This mindset is still very applicable today. While our president and other world leaders are not generally
chosen by visions from God or being anointed, God is still sovereign. Nobody gets into leadership by
an accident or oversight from our Lord. While we may not know God’s purposes behind who is in the
office or the actions they take, it doesn’t change the fact that they are our leaders for this piece of
history and God allowed them to be there.

We are not called to applaud everything our leadership does (David certainly didn’t cheer Saul on in
his murder attempts!). We should, however, act in the same respectable manner as David did towards
his nation’s king. He respected Saul’s role, did not harm or slander him, and was angered when
someone acted out in sin towards Saul (even if by request of the king himself)- because, after all,
murder is still murder whether by request or not.

How do you regard your authorities (whether domestic, local, or national)?

The Post-Election Post

Once again, it is the United States’ election season. At the time of my writing this, we are four days away from the day that the votes will be tallied and we will learn who gets to be the new head of the USA. As always, people are freaking out, and many of them are my fellow Christians. My question is, why? 

Yes, things will be different, and no, we may not always see eye to eye with the things that the candidates want to put into action. But why should we fret about it? History states that God takes care of His people, and that He knows when they need Him.

“God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” (Exodus 2:24-25) 

Yes, God knew. And while He did let them remain in unfavorable conditions for a considerable period, still, he came to their aid when the time was right. He always takes care of His people- we can see it all throughout the Bible. 

Now, you may be thinking, “Well, that was just talking about the children of Israel. We aren't born of them.” If so, let me remind you that those of us who are saved in Christ count as much as they do:

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:11-13)

Remember, friends, it's all going down just how God intends, no matter who you just found out is going to be in charge of the country. Whatever happens, no matter how much you dislike things, God is still there for us and working it all to His glory.

Taking The Better Land

Tip: Experiment with the panorama function for landscape photography. Hold your breath and turn your upper body rather than your arms or feet for a more steady shot.

In Genesis chapters 13 & 14, Abram and Lot come to the conclusion that there isn't enough space in the land for both them and all of their possessions and families. Abram steps up and gives his kinsman the first choice for land. When given the option to choose what he liked, Lot of course picked the nicer looking side to travel into. Who wouldn't, right?

As the story continues, it turns out that while Lot's choice may have been good as far as the quality of the land itself, it came with an unexpected downside: the inhabitants were incredibly vile people. At one point, the land even gets pillaged by opposing armies and Lot ends up taken captive (but Abram gathers an army himself and rescues Lot and defeats his captors). Later on, God ends up sending His messengers to tell Lot to flee the city he is in because He intends to destroy it due to the great sinfulness of it's inhabitants. 

How often are we inclined to jump at the first choice without thinking of what our friends or family may want or need? How often are we the ones who have the ability to take whatever option we desire, but instead kindly offer the first pick to others? We may not run into the bad results that Lot did when he decided to take what he thought to be the best for himself, but nevertheless, we are called to treat others as we would wish to be treated:

"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)

How to Survive being a Manager

Tip: Get angles that allow the viewer to see the true depth of the landscape. Notice how you can see four separate ridges in this photo?

Recently I was cast into the position of being a department head at the county fair. Without any real training as to what exactly a manager does, it proved to be quite an adjustment for me, being someone who is used to living on the bottom rung of the working world. Very few instances before had I been the one in charge of scoping out the path ahead of time and deciding and directing people how to proceed.

For how managers are often cast in movies and comics, it appears that it would be a position that instills great pride in the one holding it. For me, it proved the opposite. I'm the sort of person who has always lived with the attitude of "if you want it done right, do it yourself" - but when you're manager of a large project, you cannot continue on that way. Part of being a manager is being humble enough to admit that you need the help of a team to get the task done. 

Another big part of being a manager is well summed up in the Golden Rule:  “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them." (Matthew 7:12a) 

Be the person that you wish you had to guide and instruct you. Take note of how Jesus treated his disciples and taught people; ask yourself if this is how you are acting toward those who you are in charge of.