Some Things Never Change

There it was. Some 850 before the birth of Jesus. The very same thing that I see happening in our nation today. It must be a part of our human nature.

The situation (2 Chronicles 18): King Jehoshaphat of Judah was visiting his father-in-law, King Ahab of Israel. During the visit, Ahab sought to enlist Jehoshaphat in attacking a neighboring kingdom east of the Jordan. In their planning, the kings sought Yahweh's guidance by consulting the prophets (in the same way we ask God to bless our plans and efforts). Ahab's prophets unanimously agreed that Yahweh would make their plans successful. But Jehoshaphat wasn't convinced. He wanted to consult one other prophet. So Micaiah was summonsed. Ahab didn't like Micaiah because "he never has a favorable prophecy for me." The messenger who was sent to summons Micaiah told him what the other prophets had said. Then he said: "Try to speak like one of them and foretell success" (2 Chronicles 18:12).

And there it was, in black and white: we don't want to hear anything that contradicts what we believe or challenges what we want. We want the comfort of having things our way. We want to do what we want with God's blessing.

Ahab wanted to invade the neighboring kingdom ... and he wanted Yahweh's blessing in doing so.

Today, we don't want to hear anything that does not support our position on all that is going on in the world. We don't want anything to disturb our way of life or our traditions or the way things have always been. Translation: our comfortable way of life and the privileges we enjoy. So we surround ourselves with those who say what we want to hear and what we already believe, like Ahab's prophets.

Because we don't want to hear anything that contradicts what we believe or challenges what we want, we are not open to truth. In fact, we are resistant to truth. We do not want to hear a word from God. (You might want to reread that last statement.)

A word from God - truth - might be disturbing. It might challenge our understanding, our opinions, our positions. It might call us to change how we think. It might call us to change how we view and treat others. It might disrupt our comfortable way of life. It might call us to extend to others the privileges we ourselves enjoy. A word from God might call us to do the hard work of learning and growing and changing.

Being resistant to a word from God and to God's truth, we don't want preachers who proclaim God's truth. (Ahab: "I hate him because he never has a favorable prophecy for me." The messenger who summoned Micaiah : "Try to speak like one of them and foretell success" ) We want preachers who tell us what we already believe, not preachers who challenge us to think deeper. We want preachers who tell us how good we are, not preachers who call us to grow. We want preachers who entertain us, not preachers who make us think. We want preachers who tell us stories, not preachers who teach us the ways of the kingdom. We want preachers who make us comfortable, not preachers who challenge us. We don't want preachers who disturb our comfortable way of life.

In our resistance to truth, we push back against anything that challenges the comfort of our status quo. We counter "Black Lives Matter" with "All Lives Matter." In doing so, we miss the point. We are offended when someone takes a knee during the national anthem, calling it unpatriotic and disrespectful. In doing so, we miss the message being sent. We are angry when people take to the streets in protest, condemning rioting and looting as though all protesters were rioting and looting. In doing so, we miss what the protests are saying. We are quick to defend "The Blue" when people speak of police brutality, calling for police reform and police accountability. We argue "You don't have to fear the police if you're not doing anything wrong." (Those who say such do not know the black experience.) In doing so, we seek to keep things the way they are (because the way things are works for us). Our push back reveals the white privilege we enjoy (and are quick to deny because we cannot see it and don't want to see it).

Resisting truth - in whatever way it is proclaimed (prophets, preachers, protests) - has devastating results. Ahab and Jehoshaphat ignored Micaiah and marched into battle. And Ahab was killed.

Resisting a word from God is resisting God's effort to grow us into Christ-like maturity. It keeps us stuck in immaturity. Rejecting truth (in whatever way it is spoken) keeps our thinking stunted, sentencing us to prolonged emotional-relational-spiritual immaturity. Pushing back against change keeps us stuck in old ways that are no longer effective in a new reality. Protecting the status quo is ignoring - or worse, discounting - the cries of those for whom the status quo does not work (and never has). It sows the seeds of rebellion - a rebellion that will disturb and disrupt in destructive ways.

Wanting my way - desiring comfort over challenge - clinging to the status quo while resisting change -  closing our eyes to truth - all are part of our human condition.

But they are not the way of the followers of Jesus! Jesus followers are called disciples, another word for student or learner. The very heart of being a disciple is learning the truth of God that Jesus taught. It is being open and teachable, not obstinate and resistant.

There it was ... in something that happened some 850 years before the birth of Christ. Some things, it seems, never change. Except by the grace of God and the work of the Spirit!