By Dave Benner
In I Samuel chapter 8, God’s people demanded that Samuel appoint a king over Israel so they would be “like all the nations.” This demand came on the heels of the failure of Samuel’s sons as judges.
Samuel was depressed over the failure of his sons, his ineffective parenting, and this demand. God assured him that the people had rejected Him and not Samuel. God told Samuel to forewarn the people of all the things a king would do. These included taking their sons for soldiers and their daughters for servants. Further, a king would demand the best of their crops and of their livestock.
Despite the warnings, the people demanded a king, “That we may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” They disregarded the fact that God was their King and had protected Israel up to that point despite their disobedience.
The spirit of this demand to be like others lives on today in many ways. Though Jesus taught that we are not of this world, it seems many Christians fear looking odd or different from others. This spirit is particularly seen in Christians who demand changes in doctrine to be like other religious groups. For example:
Give us a choir and musical instruments to enhance our worship to make it more appealing to outsiders.
Give preachers robes and special clothing for different times of the year. Allow women in worship leadership roles with more rituals and pageantry. Let us develop a hierarchy so that there are positions above the local congregation to
rule over us and interpret God’s word to fit the world around us. Insert an entertainment element into our worship for there are so many fun and
interesting things we can explore outside of God’s Word. Give us the freedom to live our lives outside the building in a worldly fashion without
any correction or admonishment.
We need to resist this urge to be like others and concentrate on being a Christian who tries diligently to follow God’s Word. Let’s be doers of the Word.