Zimri, one of his officials, who had command of half his chariots, plotted against him. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk in the home of Arza, the palace administrator at Tirzah. – 1 Kings 16:9

Today's Scripture Reading (January 2, 2023): 1 Kings 16

I admit that I struggle with a division between time spent on the job and time spent pursuing recreational activities. And I don't think that I am alone. A recent episode of CBS's "Blue Bloods" explored the concept of being an off-duty police officer. Specifically, it seemed to ask whether an off-duty officer had any responsibility to attempt to stop the commission of a crime. But the question is much broader than just applying to emergency services personnel, although the difference might be more important with some professions. Whether an accountant stops being an accountant when they leave the office isn't as critical as whether the President of a corporation or a nation stops being the President when he is away for a weekend.

An even more important question might be, is there ever a time when it is appropriate for a political leader to be drunk? I have to admit, I don't think that thought has ever occurred to me before, but what is the difference between a political leader who has been incapacitated by recreational alcohol or drug use and being incapacitated by a medical procedure? At least for the latter, there is a procedure where the second-in-command can be placed in charge of the nation for the time that the leader is out of commission.

Elah was King over the Northern Kingdom of Israel. According to the narrative in Kings, he was relaxing, getting drunk in the home of the palace administrator. The text doesn't directly say so, but there is a question in the text about Arza's, the palace administrator, complicity with the assassination of the King. Arza had invited the King into his home and gave the King the occasion to drink, but is it possible that the whole situation had been set up so that Zimri would then have an opportunity to kill the incapacitated King?

Of course, the Bible cautions us about the dangers of getting drunk, but that warning is one that even Christians sometimes seem to ignore. But what is sometimes missed is that every time we become the servants of our drinks, we put our trust in someone else, and we have to be certain that the person is someone we can trust and worthy of our faith. And for many of us, there is some aspect of our reality from which we are never really off duty, so we have another reason not to drink to excess just because we have been invited. There is nothing wrong with relaxing and having a good time. But we need to be in control of our behavior in a way that excess alcohol often makes impossible. And we also should be the person in whom others feel comfortable placing their trust. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 15