Read 1 Samuel 8

Do You Want To Be Like Everyone Else?

Samuel’s sons were not faithful men. Inspiration tells us that “they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice” (1 Samuel 8:3). How many warnings are found in the Scriptures against “the love of money” (1 Timothy 6:10)? There are countless examples of men and women who have lost their way because of greed.

As a result of their corruption, the people of Israel demanded a change. They told the aged Samuel, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). The people were not willing to be ruled by these corrupt sons of Samuel. They were ready to be like everyone else around them.

Samuel was upset by their demand, but God told him to go along with their wishes. “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:7). God was willing to let them have their way, but He warned them of the consequences.

Many times, we do not realize the consequences of the things for which we pray today. Perhaps we are praying with improper motives. Perhaps we have a desire to be like others around us, failing to realize how much more blessed we are than them.

“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:1-4).

Christians should not want to fit in with the rest of the world. The rest of the world does not have the blessing of being in Christ! The nation of Israel failed to recognize the blessing of being God’s chosen people. Today, Christians are God’s “chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people” (1 Peter 2:9). Let us learn to be content with His blessing and refuse to be tempted by the temporary riches of this life!