Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. – 1 Kings 13:33

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 23, 2013): 1 Kings 13

During Bill Clinton’s presidency, the President came to a much publicized crossroad. He had the opportunity to admit that he had done something wrong, or deny that the event ever happened. The story is told that at this point Clinton asked his advisers if the polls reflected that the American people would be able to forgive his transgression - whether the people would rather have someone who had committed some sort of transgression at the helm of the county, or a liar in control. And the advice was clear. The people would forgive a transgression that is confessed to them – but a liar would not be tolerated. In spite of the warning, the president chose to lie – and to a certain extent, his presidency has been defined by the lie rather than the good things that he accomplished.

The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once wrote that “if you must hold yourself up to your children as an object lesson (which is not at all necessary), hold yourself up as a warning and not as an example” (A Treatise on Parents and Children). Our reality is that we are a flawed people. It is the one thing that makes the evaluation of public figures a pointless proposition. If we are looking at the actions of life, we will always find the mistakes and sins. We all have something hiding in the closet – not one of us is perfect. The concept of leading by example is often a fairy tale – it can be done to a point, but only to a point.

We need to understand that the reason why this passage is included by the author of Kings is to describe the lengths that God went to convict Jeroboam of his sins. Jeroboam was considered to be evil not because he made mistakes – we all make mistakes. Jeroboam’s problem was that he absolutely refused to learn from them. He continued to deny that there was anything wrong with what he was doing. God spoke clearly, but Jeroboam simply ignored the message.

Our truth is that we usually know when we have messed up. And we have the same choice, either we can ignore the feeling, or we change our behavior. The reality that no one – including us – is perfect might be a hard pill to swallow, but it is a universal characteristic of humankind. And so our only real choice is to admit our shortcomings and learn from them, or to follow the path of Jeroboam and ignore the message. But we also need to remember that Jeroboam’s path will only lead us to destruction – and learning from our mistakes is one of the first steps toward success. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 14