No King!

            In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. (Judges 17:6)

            Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. (Proverbs 29:18) 

            One of the benefits of driving long distances is the chance to listen to large chunks of books, and on my longest trips, I like to listen to the Bible. Over past two days, I’ve listened to Genesis through most of Judges, and there are a couple of passages that stuck out to me. One is the verse listed above. There are a couple of reasons it caught my notice. Others have mentioned that it’s a sort of chorus in the book, but it doesn’t show up until comparatively late in the book. (find where.) Another is that I recall hearing that Samuel may have written these histories. It seems odd to me that he would take up the “There was no king in Israel” bit given the fact that he was opposed to setting up a king. God was the King, but God was basically ignored except when they got desperate. That’s been the pattern throughout many ages.

            In fact, I have been told (and have seen it in action) that after a church adds on to a building or builds a new building, or even after a church changes pastors, that things may go downhill. That is what ties “there was no king in Israel” to the second passage. When the people (whoever they are) are trying to accomplish something or have good leadership (which generally means they’re trying to accomplish something) they are focused. They have a vision. Once that vision is reached, the focus dissolves. This is natural. You can’t stay in high energy focus or crisis mode for extended periods without burnout. The people need to rest.

             We see this happening election after election. Those whose party wins the election tend to relax because they expect the government will do what they want. Those whose candidate loses the election tend to stay focused (and angry), determined to fight for what they know to be right (whether right or not!)

            This is also the case with individuals. In Weight of Glory (I think), C.S. Lewis wrote about people always becoming either something we might be tempted to worship or something out of our worst nightmares. There is no standing still. Standing still, at least for any time, moves us toward the nightmare end of the spectrum. But, the times when we are resting or seeming to stand still, we can be consolidating what we’ve learned. That keeps us active and focused but in a relaxed mode. It’s sort of like puttering instead of doing major cleaning. It’s what we do when we finish one project and select a new one. We might choose not to begin the new project until next weekend, but there’s a low level of positive focus on it. Our vision strengthens, and focus is provided without as much stress.

            And that’s my situation as I write this. I have driven two days to get here. I have two days of puttering around, seeing sights, and helping out, then I drive two more days and the next phase of life begins. That’s what gardening is all about. You prep the beds, plant the plants; weed, water, and fertilize; harvest the crops, preserve the crops, and then you plan for the next planting.

            Unfortunately, we don’t tend to think of life like that. We just muddle, slog, wander or float our way through it, dealing with things with a crisis-by-crisis mentality. That’s the source of our ghosts and regrets – the things we should have done (or should not have don) that haunt us. And that is why I like the word “Next!” because it reminds me to keep my mind active.