Today’s Scripture Reading (November
21, 2016): 2 Chronicles 25
In poker,
there is a term that is sometimes used
when a player is “All-In” in a hand, but
they just don’t realize it yet. The term is “pot committed.” It is the point
where a player has invested so many of his chips into a hand that no matter
what the bet might be, he will not be able to fold his hand. Essentially the
player has become too emotionally invested in his hand to think rationally. The
player’s reaction is, if I have gone this
far, I might as well go the rest of the way and risk all of what I have left in the hope that I might win.
Amaziah has
become “pot committed.” He has chosen and paid for a particular line of action –
in this case the hiring of troops from Israel - when he is informed by a prophet that God does not approve. But Amaziah’s
problem is that there has been a significant monetary investment in the troops,
too much for the king to just walk away from his plan. But the prophet reminds
him that there is much more that God can restore to him if he is willing to simply follow God’s plan – the investment
that has already been made is not enough
to risk failure by going against God.
There are so
many ways that we seem to get “pot committed” in life. We invest money, time, and
space in our lives, even after it becomes apparent that the venture we are
investing ourselves into will fail. Often what is needed is for us to step back
and ask what it is that God wants from us – knowing that if we are willing to
follow his path he can restore whatever it is that we might have lost.
We can trust
our “everything” with him. And this was the lesson that Amaziah needed to
learn. Here he did learn it, but later in life,
he would forget his earlier experience –
and then there would be no one around who would be willing to teach the king
the lesson one more time. Here he would win, but later he would become “pot
committed” and lose everything. And that is the ultimate tragedy.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Kings
15
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