“But the people refused to listen to 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.”            – 1 Samuel 8:19-20

Americans get pretty worked up over election results. The stakes always seem so high…

       Donald Trump promised to Make America Great Again. Who wouldn’t want that?

       Barack Obama offered Hope and Change. Sign me up!

       George W. Bush served up Compassionate Conservatism. Give me a double order of that, please!

       Dwight Eisenhower said he would bring Peace and Prosperity. How soon can we start?

       Even as young student, I voted for Student Council President candidates who promised longer recesses, less homework, and field trips to Disney World. If we can just elect the right person, surely good things will happen and our lives will improve.

       The Israelites were no different. Although God promised to lead them and make them prosperous as their eternal king, that wasn’t enough. They wanted an earthly king like the nations around them. With the right earthly king on the throne, they would find success in battle and economic prosperity…or so they thought. 

       The note from the margin reads: We still want a leader to fight our fights and fix our problems. Rather than put our trust in God, we look to earthly leaders for solutions to what ails our society and our lives. Rather than seek to become more pure and Christ-like as individuals, we focus on an earthly king who promises to make our nation greater. Rather than put our hope in a Savior who can change us, we order up hope and change from a mere mortal.

       I’m not against political parties, politicians, or free and open elections. Earthly kings, from the United States President down to the 8^th Grade Student Council President, can inspire people and bring about great change. Some leaders even pray to God and ask him to guide their actions and decisions.

       But the biggest choice we face isn’t at the ballot box. What’s truly at stake isn’t dependent on which political party holds office for the next four or eight years. While those things matter, there is a matter of greater consequence. Will we, as a nation and as individuals, choose to follow God? Will we trust in the one who created us, loves us, and sustains us?

       The warning from 1 Samuel 12:25 seems fitting: “Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”