1 Kings 21:1-16
In
this story, King Ahab realizes he has a world class vineyard next to
his house, but the problem is he's not the owner. The owner's name is
Naboth. Ahab goes up to Naboth one day and says, "I'd like to use your vineyard for my kitchen garden. I'll either buy it from you or give you an even better vineyard."
Naboth says, "There's no way in hell I'm giving you the family farm! Are you out of your mind?"
Ahab doesn't like what he hears and goes home to sulk about it. He goes into a deep depression and refuses to eat. Jezebel, his crazy wife, shows up and asks Ahab why he's in such a funk. She says, "Come on dude, you're a king. Get on your feet and cheer up! Eat something! If you want something you need to go and get it. Here's what I'll do. I'll get the vineyard for you."
Jezebel sends out letters to all the elders and civic leaders of the city, and tells them to call a day of fasting. She tells them that when they come together to break the fast, to seat Naboth at the head table. Then, she tells them to plant two town drunks across the table from him. "Get the two degenerates to accuse Naboth of blaspheming God and the king. Then, the townspeople will become so upset that they'll take Naboth outside and stone him to death."
Jezebel forges Ahab's signature, and everyone thinks the author is Ahab. So, they swallow the dimented advice of Jezebel and do exactly as the letter instructs. They put Naboth at the head table, he gets accused, and they stone him to death.
When Jezebel receives word that Naboth is dead, she tells Ahab to go and claim the farm for his own. He does.
Have you ever punished someone for not giving you what you wanted? I have.
About six years ago I was trying to "fix" a homeless couple. I was trying to rescue them from drugs, alcohol, and living in a way I didn't think was appropriate. I would show up every weekend with planner in hand, and plan what I thought they should do the following week. I didn't care what they wanted, but only cared that they followed my instructions. In the process, I got a friend to give them his car since they needed an extra vehicle. I also got other people involved in their business. I became their king (in my own head mind you).
What I wanted for them was to get better. I wanted them to get out of the hole. In reality, I was the one who was in the hole. I was the alcoholic, suffering from a hopeless state of mental insanity. I couldn't see it though. The more I tried to tell them what to do, the more they resisted. The more they resisted, the more controlling I became. I was obsessed with trying to change them and getting them to become the way I wanted them to be. They weren't going to have any of it.
In my mind, I thought I was doing them a great service. I thought I was a super hero. However, I was the one who needed help with my problems. They were doing just fine. As I got more people involved in their business, more expectations were placed on them to things that pleased us. We wanted them to get a driver's license. We wanted them to get jobs. We wanted them to go to church. We wanted them to get the kind of life we had.
They didn't want that though. So, we took the car away and called the CPS. They weren't giving us what we wanted, and we took measures to punish them for their disobedience.
I know this sounds extreme, but when power comes into play, we are not removed from making really brash decisions. Power has a way of wooing us to take things that aren't freely given to us. I think the homeless couple that I was trying to fix is way better off now that I'm not in their lives anymore. I believe that when they were freed from my obsession to control them, they began to recreate their lives in the way they wanted, with no strings attached.
When we want something, are we okay with not getting it? When we want somebody to do something for us, are we okay with them saying no?
It's very tempting, especially when we hold some kind of authority, to not let no be a complete sentence. Instead of accepting someone else's decision to say no, we conspire ways to get what we want. In Jezebel's case, she had the man stoned to death.
Today's Action: Let no be a complete sentence.
Naboth says, "There's no way in hell I'm giving you the family farm! Are you out of your mind?"
Ahab doesn't like what he hears and goes home to sulk about it. He goes into a deep depression and refuses to eat. Jezebel, his crazy wife, shows up and asks Ahab why he's in such a funk. She says, "Come on dude, you're a king. Get on your feet and cheer up! Eat something! If you want something you need to go and get it. Here's what I'll do. I'll get the vineyard for you."
Jezebel sends out letters to all the elders and civic leaders of the city, and tells them to call a day of fasting. She tells them that when they come together to break the fast, to seat Naboth at the head table. Then, she tells them to plant two town drunks across the table from him. "Get the two degenerates to accuse Naboth of blaspheming God and the king. Then, the townspeople will become so upset that they'll take Naboth outside and stone him to death."
Jezebel forges Ahab's signature, and everyone thinks the author is Ahab. So, they swallow the dimented advice of Jezebel and do exactly as the letter instructs. They put Naboth at the head table, he gets accused, and they stone him to death.
When Jezebel receives word that Naboth is dead, she tells Ahab to go and claim the farm for his own. He does.
Have you ever punished someone for not giving you what you wanted? I have.
About six years ago I was trying to "fix" a homeless couple. I was trying to rescue them from drugs, alcohol, and living in a way I didn't think was appropriate. I would show up every weekend with planner in hand, and plan what I thought they should do the following week. I didn't care what they wanted, but only cared that they followed my instructions. In the process, I got a friend to give them his car since they needed an extra vehicle. I also got other people involved in their business. I became their king (in my own head mind you).
What I wanted for them was to get better. I wanted them to get out of the hole. In reality, I was the one who was in the hole. I was the alcoholic, suffering from a hopeless state of mental insanity. I couldn't see it though. The more I tried to tell them what to do, the more they resisted. The more they resisted, the more controlling I became. I was obsessed with trying to change them and getting them to become the way I wanted them to be. They weren't going to have any of it.
In my mind, I thought I was doing them a great service. I thought I was a super hero. However, I was the one who needed help with my problems. They were doing just fine. As I got more people involved in their business, more expectations were placed on them to things that pleased us. We wanted them to get a driver's license. We wanted them to get jobs. We wanted them to go to church. We wanted them to get the kind of life we had.
They didn't want that though. So, we took the car away and called the CPS. They weren't giving us what we wanted, and we took measures to punish them for their disobedience.
I know this sounds extreme, but when power comes into play, we are not removed from making really brash decisions. Power has a way of wooing us to take things that aren't freely given to us. I think the homeless couple that I was trying to fix is way better off now that I'm not in their lives anymore. I believe that when they were freed from my obsession to control them, they began to recreate their lives in the way they wanted, with no strings attached.
When we want something, are we okay with not getting it? When we want somebody to do something for us, are we okay with them saying no?
It's very tempting, especially when we hold some kind of authority, to not let no be a complete sentence. Instead of accepting someone else's decision to say no, we conspire ways to get what we want. In Jezebel's case, she had the man stoned to death.
Today's Action: Let no be a complete sentence.
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