This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take…
(1 Sam. 8:11)
There was a time when Israel had no king. However, the people wanted one to lead them, to fight their battles and to make them like other nations (1 Sam 8:20). The prophet Samuel warned them that the king would take; sons, daughters, land, taxes and so on. Ever since people have been shouting “Pay Back the Money”! Kings like to be, as the Public Protector would put it, “Secure in Comfort”.
Democracy may be a preferred system of governance to monarchy but from football to Parliament (indeed, wherever people have power) corruption and self-enrichment are endemic. The book of Samuel gives God’s diagnosis – when people become idolatrous, choosing a human figurehead over submission to God, they are enslaved.
Christians are called to witness through life-style, prayer and protest that the Kingdom has come. Matters of faith are still important to South Africans. In fact three of our most powerful leaders are “pastors” (Jacob Zuma, Mogoeng Mogoeng & Musi Miamane). When those in power claim to speak for God we need to be on our toes. Now is the time for prayerful discernment and vocal criticism. Any leader who claims faith in Christ and chooses a route other than the cross is, at best, gravely mistaken and, at worst, diabolically dangerous.
God Bless,
Sean