One of the hard things about living in this state of not-yet is dealing with this world’s power figures. I’ve never met a president or king, but I did shake hands with Prince Charles once and occasionally I host the governor or a congressman for a plant tour. My power figures are the movers and shakers in my own community, the wealthy and the business leaders who have money and influence.
Since it’s hard for me to resist their persuasiveness and it’s easy to be drawn to the things they can do for me, I needed to read this from Genesis 14 this morning: “But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, “I made Abram rich.” I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me–to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.’”
Abram had just spent days in hot pursuit and in combat, chasing down the kings who plundered Sodom and kidnapped his nephew. He must have been tired and sore and dirty. He must have felt like he deserved a reward. But he wouldn’t take one from the King of Sodom, a heathen who lived as though God didn’t exist. “You will never be able to say you were the one who made me what I am,” Abram told the king.
The lesson for me is that I can easily compromise myself by who I partner with in life. There are some people who can fill my bank account and bankrupt my soul. Far better to be like Daniel, who turned down the best another pagan king had in his palace in order to be different from the pagans.
The word we Reformed use is “distinctive.” May 2016 be a year of distinctiveness for me.
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