I used to badger people to learn more about the Bible, especially the parts that people never seem to read much.  As I have gotten older and as I have tried to grow more spiritually, the more I think we could spend the rest of our lives just learning and re-learning the simplest Sunday School stories more deeply.  Letting them sink from our heads to our hearts is what we really need.

Recently I re-read the story where the people of Israel demanded a king so they could be like other nations.  In its infancy, Israel had no king because God alone was their king.  As the story goes, God tells Samuel the prophet to give Israel the king they want (Saul) but warn them that they are asking for trouble by choosing to submit to a human king.

In his address to the people, Samuel says, “do not turn aside after useless things that cannot profit or save…” (1 Samuel 12:21).  The people of Israel thought having a King would give them an advantage militarily against their enemies.  They also wanted the prestige of having a king.  They probably also wanted a king to relieve them of some of their own personal responsibility for the life of their nation: let the king worry about it. 

We aren’t clamoring for a king, but we still are inclined to turn aside after useless things that cannot profit or save.  We invest our time and effort to pursue very fleeting pleasures and accomplishments that feed our egos but don’t make us better people.  We exhaust ourselves trying to look good and forget to be good.  From time to time, we should stop and ask ourselves whether we have turned aside from the path we should be following.  We need to ask ourselves: ‘Have I been lured away by something attractive but which cannot profit or save me?’

Prayer:  Gracious God, forgive us when we turn aside after lesser gods and fail to live out the deepest meaning of our lives.  Amen.