1 Kings 22:29-45
Kings
Ahab and Jehoshaphat go into battle against Ramoth Gilead. Ahab decides
to go into war disguised to try to save his own ass. The words of
Micaiah are ringing through his head, and he knows he better watch his
steps. He tells Jehoshaphat to wear the kingly robe, so that he doesn't
get spotted by the opposition.
King Aram of the opposing army and his chariot commanders, spot the king of Israel. They think it's Ahab until Jehoshaphat yells out. They realize they have the wrong man. Ahab is somewhere hidden in the ranks. Aram tells his charioteers to only go after the king and to not mess with anyone else, no matter how great or small. They let Jehoshaphat go.
Someone shoots an unaimed, random arrow into the crowd of Ahab's fighters, and the arrow winds up in the chink of Ahab's armor. It pierces his heart. Ahab screams to his charioteers to get him out of there. He's wounded. For the rest of the night, Ahab props himself up in his chariot, watching from the sidelines. As the sun goes down, he dies. A reverberating yell comes out from the army as everyone realizes that Ahab is dead, "Abandon camp! Head home! The king is dead!"
They take Ahab home and bury him in the same cemetery as his ancestors. The chariot is filled with blood and gets washed at the pool of Samaria. Ahaziah, Ahab's son, is the next king of Israel.
About five years ago, I decided to come clean with the leaders of my church about my pot smoking. We all sat in a room, and as I looked at everyone in the eyes, I confessed that I had been getting high every night. I felt like I needed to tell them because I was pretty invested in the church, and didn't think it would be good to keep secrets like that. Not shortly after the conversation started, I began to throw people under the bus. The good friends of mine who were also part of the church got drawn into the conversation in an effort to make myself look better than I was. Their reputation was compromised because I wanted to save my own skin at their expense.
I was in trouble and I knew it. I decided to do what Ahab did, and clothe them in my kingly robe. I drew them into the mess I created in order to disguise myself - to take the attention off of me. This really hurt our friendship because one of the leaders in the room called my friends on the phone later on and confronted them about the gossip that I started. Our relationship has never mended since that conversation.
Disguising ourselves to save our own butts at the expense of others doesn't work. When we create chaos, we can either take responsibility without dragging other people into it, or we can try to make other people look bad in the process. In the end, the ones who weren't part of the mess we created are saved and let go. We're the ones who get the fatal arrow.
Today's Action: If we mess up today, take responsibility for our actions and not anybody else's. Don't try to bring other people into it in order to make ourselves look better than we really are. In the end, honesty wins out.
King Aram of the opposing army and his chariot commanders, spot the king of Israel. They think it's Ahab until Jehoshaphat yells out. They realize they have the wrong man. Ahab is somewhere hidden in the ranks. Aram tells his charioteers to only go after the king and to not mess with anyone else, no matter how great or small. They let Jehoshaphat go.
Someone shoots an unaimed, random arrow into the crowd of Ahab's fighters, and the arrow winds up in the chink of Ahab's armor. It pierces his heart. Ahab screams to his charioteers to get him out of there. He's wounded. For the rest of the night, Ahab props himself up in his chariot, watching from the sidelines. As the sun goes down, he dies. A reverberating yell comes out from the army as everyone realizes that Ahab is dead, "Abandon camp! Head home! The king is dead!"
They take Ahab home and bury him in the same cemetery as his ancestors. The chariot is filled with blood and gets washed at the pool of Samaria. Ahaziah, Ahab's son, is the next king of Israel.
About five years ago, I decided to come clean with the leaders of my church about my pot smoking. We all sat in a room, and as I looked at everyone in the eyes, I confessed that I had been getting high every night. I felt like I needed to tell them because I was pretty invested in the church, and didn't think it would be good to keep secrets like that. Not shortly after the conversation started, I began to throw people under the bus. The good friends of mine who were also part of the church got drawn into the conversation in an effort to make myself look better than I was. Their reputation was compromised because I wanted to save my own skin at their expense.
I was in trouble and I knew it. I decided to do what Ahab did, and clothe them in my kingly robe. I drew them into the mess I created in order to disguise myself - to take the attention off of me. This really hurt our friendship because one of the leaders in the room called my friends on the phone later on and confronted them about the gossip that I started. Our relationship has never mended since that conversation.
Disguising ourselves to save our own butts at the expense of others doesn't work. When we create chaos, we can either take responsibility without dragging other people into it, or we can try to make other people look bad in the process. In the end, the ones who weren't part of the mess we created are saved and let go. We're the ones who get the fatal arrow.
Today's Action: If we mess up today, take responsibility for our actions and not anybody else's. Don't try to bring other people into it in order to make ourselves look better than we really are. In the end, honesty wins out.
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