June 5
1 Kings 11:1-43; 2 Chronicles 9:29-31; Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
If there is a leak in your roof, you don't ignore it hoping the roof will repair itself. If there is a rabid dog in the playground, you don't hope that it will leave, you take care of it. Yet, this is not what we often do in life. We have serious issues at home and at the workplace, and rather than act, we simply hope that they will work themselves out. Action is required, yet action is so often lacking. It might seem easier for a season to ignore things but this often worsens the situation. We must be aware that not taking action is indeed taking action. Both are decisions with consequences.
David knows that Solomon is to be the next king, yet does nothing when Adonijah, another son, sets the stage for himself to be named king. We read of this in 1 Kings 1:5-6, " Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king”; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.)" David failed to rebuke him when he knew the coup was in the developmental stages. Earlier after David's son, Amnon raped David's daughter, Tamar (2 Samuel 13), children through different mothers, we read David's response in 2 Samuel 13:21, "But when King David heard of all these things, he was very angry." Being angry is not an action response, it is simply a feeling. These series of inactions on the part of a good king, like David, resulted in the death of three of his sons: Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah.
We are looking at a world which is the result of having no consequences for their actions. Obviously deviant behavior has remained unchecked and undisciplined. This is both in the public and the private arena. Taking action may create enemies. Taking action may create short term discomfort in inter-personal relationships. Some relationships might even be permanently hurt, but God's word is God's word. He gets to call right, right, and wrong, wrong. If we allow wrong to fester for the sake of feelings or avoiding discomfort, something worse and often unexpected is often around the corner.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: