Why Not Have a King?

Samuel had two sons. The older one was Joel, and the younger one was Abijah. When Samuel was getting old, he let them be leaders at Beersheba. But they were not like their father. They were dishonest and accepted bribes to give unfair decisions.

One day the nation's leaders came to Samuel at Ramah  and said, “You are an old man. You set a good example for your sons, but they haven't followed it. Now we want a king to be our leader, just like all the other nations. Choose one for us!”

Samuel was upset to hear the leaders say they wanted a king, so he prayed about it.  The Lord answered:

Samuel, do everything they want you to do. I am really the one they have rejected as their king.

I Samuel 8:1-7

When a nation has a king, the honor that is due to God Almighty is frequently given to the king instead!  The reason a republic works so well is not because the people are able to rule themselves, it is rather because without a king they can be ruled by God. When a nation is established on the moral precepts found in the Bible and even declares that it trusts in God by printing that phrase on it's money, and then that nation rejects the rule of God for the rule of a human king, there are serious consequences.

The 200 plus year success of the United States is not because democracy is better than totalitarianism.  And it certainly is not because we are smarter than the rest of the world.  Our success is clearly based on a widespread recognition of the truths of God and our need to be ruled by His moral authority instead of a "king." 

Now, we are letting our "king" decide what is moral and what is not.  We let men, based on nothing more than their own opinions establish the laws of our land, which even they don't feel obliged to keep. 

The truth is that you can have only one KING in your heart.  Either you will serve and trust King Jesus, or you will serve another earthly king.  That kind of fundamental transformation will destroy any nation!

"Lord Jesus, sit on the throne of my heart today.  I choose to have no other King but You in my life.  And may everything I do today bring Glory to Your Name!  Amen."