Off To A Good Start

“But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.”  II Chronicles 26:16

Over and over we are told in the Old Testament that the king either did right in God’s sight or he was evil.  Some of them who later went over to the “dark side” actually had started out with the intention of serving the LORD and serving God’s people.  They wanted to be a good and fair ruler over the people of Israel, but somewhere along the way, they lost sight of their original goal of obeying God and leading His people.  Well, you know what they say about good intentions.

Solomon, known as the wisest human who ever lived was asked by God as to what God could give him.  He didn’t ask for riches, death to his enemies, or a long life, but he asked for an understanding heart in order to judge the people with equity.  God was pleased with his answer, gave him wisdom and also great riches (I Kings 3:5-14).   He had the magnificent temple built and prayed a heartfelt prayer of dedication when it was completed (I Kings 8:12).  So far, so good, except that he had begun to dabble in idol worship, influenced by his Egyptian wife.  Years later, his experimentation with idolatry became full blown evil in God’s sight (I Kings 11:1-6).  By the time he was an old man, he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, all of them idol worshipers.  He started out as a righteous king who tried to make a difference in the lives of God’s people, but ended up as a man hardly recognizable as the once great and wise king.

Of course, Solomon was not the only king who fell from a position of prestige to a place of shame and reproach.  There were several.  One of them was Uzziah, also known as Azariah (II Kings 14:21), king of Judah.  His father was Amaziah, another king who initially was called righteous in God’s eyes, but who also fell into disgrace (II Kings 14:10) because his heart had lifted him up to make him important in his own eyes.  Uzziah’s heart was also lifted up to his destruction because he took it upon himself to burn incense in the temple, which was only permitted to be carried out by the priests.  (When scripture states that the hearts of these kings were lifted up, it means that pride and an enlarged ego allowed them to become selfish and arrogant).  When confronted by the priests, he became very angry, but God struck him with leprosy (II Chronicles 26).  God’s way to deal with a man’s pride can sometimes be very painful.

So what makes a king or anyone start out on a good path with positive goals and a desire to make a difference in the lives of others, and then fall into a state of reproach and shame?  I think about politicians, many of whom likely had all intentions of helping their constituents better their lives and making a positive difference in the nation as a whole, but then their goal became all about making tons of money and gaining a lot of power.  It seems like the longer they stay in office, the further away from their original intention to serve the people they drift.  Not all politicians follow this pattern of greed and lust for power.  I think there are some who stick to their original intent of representing their district well, but they seem to get lost in the Washington swamp and about all they can do is keep from drowning.  They find that there is a power structure that has been there a long time, and those who manage this power have no intention of letting it go.  Unfortunately, some politicians, rather than “beat” the movers and shakers, join them in their political games and tricks.  The attempts of those who do try to do the right thing for the American people are mocked by the elite and the media.  To stay on the “straight and narrow” and remain true to one’s convictions, takes a lot of backbone, determination, and most of all, a daily walk with the Lord.  Without that, politicians and all folks eager to do the right thing are vulnerable to whatever schemes the devil has in store for them.