1 Kings 11.1-3 1 King
Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites,
Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about
which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because
they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held
fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three
hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. – Anonymous
We’re not sure who wrote the books of the Kings, but we
know they were written, and we know they were written for a reason: those who cannot remember the past are
doomed to repeat it.* There is a lot
we can learn from the history of Israel and her kings. Personally, I see these
accounts as mirror images of us today; and we still cannot remember the past
nor learn from it.
In recent years a concept has hit the cultural scene: too
big to fail. I watched this morning as the newscasts announced a finding by the
US Department of State that a former Secretary of State had indeed flaunted the
rules with regard to email and state secrets. Are government persons too big to
fail? Was King Solomon?
Solomon was the wisest man on earth and he did some of
the stupidest things: marrying 700 wives was one of his most stupid. Marrying
non-Jewish wives was stupid. And acquiring over three-hundred concubines was
pretty stupid as well. A thousand women in his harem was just plain dumb. Solomon,
for all his glory, wasn’t too big to fail. He failed. Miserably.
Leaders are to lead. The problem with leaders is there
are many who lead who cannot keep themselves in check – they excuse or overlook
their own issues because they think it’s not a big deal. But leaders are people,
and last I knew, people have issues. Some are better at controlling them, and
some are not.
At men’s group this morning, we talked about the Holy
Spirit and church discipline. We men ought heed the presence of the Holy Spirit
in our lives and suck it up when chastised or rebuked by one another – none of
us is too big to fail; and our ancient enemy knows how both to play the game, and
bait the trap.
The problem with leadership nowadays for the most part, is
it lacks the componentry of servanthood. Leaders today lack the courage to
humble themselves and submit to the needs of people. They’d much rather have
the perks than the pokes. Poke a servant leader and he will ask for more. Perk
a selfish leader and he will cave to his weaknesses every time: why change when
the good life is so good?
The call on the men of the church (yours truly included)
is to submit to God, submit to one another, and to further the Kingdom of God,
together. The call upon the men of God is to realize that we are too small to
succeed alone, and failure is a high probability for the Lone Rangers among us.
The call upon the men of God is to be honest with ourselves, honest with God,
and honest with each other. Where were the faithful men of God as Solomon reduced
himself to the level of a breeding bull with a corral full of Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and
Hittites? Where are we in each other’s lives when we see each other
ignoring our petty sins, and resisting the call
on our lives?
Father God, be merciful
and help us! Help me! Amen
*Attributed to George Santayana, c. 1905
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