“Still So Obvious That It’s Not” August 18, 2024
“Still So Obvious That It’s Not”
1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Psalm 111
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58
The year was 1837 when just weeks after her 18th birthday, a young girl born at Kensington Palace discovered that she was to be the queen of England, and even though Victoria was young and inexperienced, her reign was one of the most famous and successful of all time. Likewise, when the Lord spoke to young Jeremiah that he was to be a great prophet, this young lad of 14 or 15 years protested and howled that he wasn’t up to the task. ”I am too young,” he cried. “I am only a child.” Yet over time it was the leadership of Jeremiah that enabled the nation of Israel to break free of Babylonian oppression and to rebuild the temple once again.
And so when we hear the story of young Solomon about to take over the throne of King David, his father, it’s tempting to think that this is just another story about a kid that has been thrust into a position of power, and somehow manages to do the job without making a total mess of things. It’s tempting to think that, I suppose, but young Solomon was different. In fact, he was exceptional. I mean, in real life if the Lord almighty were to say to the average 14 year old boy, “Ask what I shall give you,” I imagine the answer would be something along the lines of a lifetime supply of video games. But Solomon had been preparing for this moment. He had lots of time to think about the difficulties and the huge responsibility of governing a nation such as the nation of Israel.
Even so, his answer catches us off guard when Solomon says: “O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
‘For who is able to govern this your great people?’ indeed. The funny thing (that really isn’t that funny) is that we still grapple with this question thousands of years later. Because The thing is, God did grant young Solomon his request and he ruled for many ,many years with justice and wisdom And Israel became a great and mighty nation. Eventually, however, the power of success and fabulous wealth went to his head and old Solomon started to lose his ability to discern between good and evil, but that’s another story for another time. The point is that King Solomon wasn’t perfect by any means, but because he strived to rule with wisdom and discernment, he was one of the great ones. Having said that, I believe that we as a church body should take the words of young Solomon to heart when he requested” Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
For the last few weeks, I understand that Jonathan Booth has
spoken to you all about the characteristics of Christian leadership and Christian character, which fits in quite nicely with today’s theme of wisdom and discernment. I mean, we as the body of Christ are meant to have an impact on our communities. Folks might hear us talking about unconditional love and salvation or they might even sneak in to hear a preacher talk about the good news of the gospel, but if we really want to grab people’s attention, then we need to let them know how we operate. I mean, let’s face it, if a church body is constantly bickering about theology or baptisms or the choice of music or how to spend their resources, then folks aren’t going to want to hang around for very long. “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil,”
A good example of understanding and discerning church governance comes from a little church, I believe, in the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina. This little church had become an icon of this rural community for well over 100 years and had developed a real passion for mission. They worked tirelessly to promote food drives and clothing centers as well as providing housing, childcare, and answers to just about any other need that happened to present itself. But times were changing and as the congregation was dwindling, the beautiful old building they had come to love so much was starting to suffer From neglect, The cost to repair the crumbling foundation, they were told, would cost well over $50,000 and church leadership was at a loss as to how they might raise these kind of funds.
But as I said, times were changing. Slowly but surely the peaceful
farmland that surrounded this old church was giving way to shopping malls and car dealerships. Things were looking pretty bleak for this little country church until one day they received a letter from a law firm in Charleston informing them that a prominent development company was offering to purchase their property for close to $5 million.
Well, you can just about imagine the excitement that swelled up once this bit of news got out. There were folks from all over wanting to offer their expert advice. Some, of course. wanted to refuse the sale and save their old church no matter what. Others, who perhaps hadn’t been active in the church for years, thought it would be best to sell the property and distribute the proceeds to its membership. There didn’t seem to be an answer in sight until someone spoke up saying, “now wait a minute, Our church is not about buildings or property or any of that stuff.. We’re all about mission and we always have been, right? So hear me out, I mean, what do you suppose we could do with that kind of money for mission work? Why, we could open that youth center we’ve been talking about and don’t forget The veterans hall and senior citizen center that we started but never had the funds to finish? Just think about it. And you know ? If we sell the building that doesn’t mean we can’t have church. I’ll tell you what, If I moved the pool tables out of our great room at the house we could use that for church for as long as you like. We don’t use it anymore since the kids have left home; So what do you say?”
The room was so quiet that all you can hear was the clock ticking (on the wall
But in that same moment you could feel a change sweeping through the room. Finally a voice rose up, I think it’s one hell of an idea.” someone shouted and to make a long story short, that is what this little country church did. As the young Solomon said, “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
I was never able to follow up on this story but I would like to think that to this day there are youth hostels and senior citizen centers and food banks still going strong.
I wonder too, if these folks ever found a piece of ground on which to build a new church and if they did, I have to wonder if their new church has a pool table.
Another great example of the use of wisdom and discernment in governing our affairs is the story of Bob Moore, You would probably know of Bob Moore as the founder of Bob’s Red Mill And the huge selection of products his company makes that can be found in most every grocery store around. Starting with some borrowed money and an old used flour mill, Mr. Moore built a business that was grossing yearly Sales in the millions of dollars. But the best part of the Bob Moore story happened on his 81st birthday when Bob announced that instead of receiving gifts, Bob, decided to give his greatest gift away – ownership of his business. Bob surprised all his employees on that day by creating an Employee Stock Ownership Program and making everyone an employee-owner.
Quoting from the Red Mill website, “For those who know Bob, it’s just another example of his kind hearted generosity. As Bob puts it, ‘It was just the right thing to do. I have people that have worked for me for 30 years and each and every one deserves this.’” The interviewer said, “Mr. Moore, your company made over 100 million dollars last year, yet you’re giving 2/3 of it away. Aren’t you worried that you will end up just like you started with nothing?” Bob replied, and this was the clincher for me, “You know, the bible says to do onto others as you would have them do onto you, and I really believe that. I didn’t get where I am all by myself, so why should I keep it all to myself.” By the way, you can still visit Bob’s Red Mill in Milwaukee to buy some flour or just have a great sandwich and who knows, some old guy named Bob might just sit down next to you to strike up a conversation.
What I believe I like the most about this guy is that when he was asked about issues of wisdom and discernment his reply always seemed to be, “It’s so obvious that it’s not. The right thing to do is always there staring you in the face” The trick is to avoid overthinking the matter.”
I’ll close with what I guess you could call the vision statement of Bob Moore from Bob’ Red Mill. “It’s so obvious, it’s not. That thing you make – That thing you love – It should be a good thing. After all, isn’t that the point? Isn’t that why we’re here? To help one another. To add something. To make folks a little happier, a little healthier for doing what you do?”
You know, our journey of faith takes us to many places down many pathways, And one of those pathways would have to be the road to understanding and discernment. Through scripture and the teachings of Jesus Christ, we have a wealth of knowledge for those seeking it. But praise be to God that we have real life examples of true understanding. If nothing else, they serve as a reminder that sometimes it’s so obvious that it’s not. Amen and shalom
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