Today I read an interesting
passage from the Bible, the book of 1 Samuel chapter 8.
When Prophet Samuel who had
been leading them all along tried to make them understand the consequences of
having a king, they refused to bulge. The consequences of having a king were
not trivial because a king would essentially enslave them.
He would demand for
the best from them, he would tax them and they would lose their rights and
freedom. In verse 17-18 we see in summary what a king would do,
“He will take a tenth of your flocks,
and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you
will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
You would think the Israelites
would think this matter through carefully. Sadly their desire to be like other
nations was so great that they refused to listen to Prophet Samuel.
“No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like
all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and
fight our battles.” – verses 19,20
Well in later books of the
Bible, notably 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles, we see the
consequences of their demands. Many of their kings were horrible and trampled
on the people and brought about destruction, pain, and wars.
All these would have been
avoided if they had not desired to have what others had. The Israelites failed
to understand that they were different from other nations and had a different
assignment/purpose on earth. And so instead of being focused on their
uniqueness, they became focused on what others had and that led to their
downfall.
Isn’t that a bit like how we
behave today? We compare ourselves with others and desire to be like them. We
forget that we are unique and God has assigned us a distinct purpose on earth.
In our quest to be like others or the Joneses, we lose sight of our uniqueness
and cause ourselves unnecessary pain.
There is nothing more
frustrating than trying to be what you are not. First of all you don’t have the
capabilities and even when you finally achieve it (with much struggle on the
way), you don’t enjoy it. Why? Because you were not designed to be that.
The other day I watched a
children’s program with my son called “Thomas the tank engine”. In that
episode, one of the tank engines/train that was responsible for carrying rubbish was
unhappy with his job. He didn’t like looking and smelling dirty, he desperately
wanted to carry passengers like another tank engine/train and look clean.
The thing was, he wasn’t fitted
with the capabilities of the passenger trains. He was custom made for carrying
rubbish and was the best at doing that task. But his desire to be a passenger
train was too great. So he went out of his way to become a passenger train.
Well after he became one, he
realised he was getting frustrated at the job because he wasn’t meeting the
requirements of the passengers. After a while, he decided he didn’t like being
a passenger train anymore and went back to being a rubbish train. He realised
he was happiest being who he was designed to be.
Like that rubbish train, we can
only be happy when we are doing what we were designed for. Instead of
focusing on what you don’t have or what others have, why don’t you focus on
what you have been given? In your quest to have what others have, you may put
yourself through unnecessary pain and eventually not enjoy it.
God doesn’t make any mistakes,
everything we have been given is custom made for us to fulfil our purpose on
earth. Each of us is unique, an original copy, and God wants to enjoy our
uniqueness instead of trying to be like others. Appreciate everything you have,
the good ones and the ‘not-so-good ones’, they are there for a reason.
When I was younger, I used to
wish I was taller. In fact I almost prayed to be taller, until I realised it was
not worth bothering God about! But if I was taller, I may never have been
married to my wonderful husband who is only taller than me by a couple of
inches.
Our God is interested in every
detail of our lives, and whatever He has given us is for a purpose. Don’t be
bothered by the shape of your nose, or your skin colour, or your family, or
marital status or anything. Don’t envy those who have what you do not. And
above all don’t try to get it by hook or by crook. Delight yourself in God,
thank Him for what you have, and trust Him for the things you need.
God bless.
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Image2 courtesy:http://ccsteffen.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/comparison-is-the-thief-of-joy.jpg
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