This article was featured at this week’s “The High Calling.” Please click here for the original post.
As children, we knew all about kingdoms. We erected make-believe castles, dreamt of princes and princesses, and battled rival knights. We donned bath towels and called them royal robes, wore garish crowns of cut-out gold paper, and rode the family dog like a white steed.
An Insight into Human Nature
Really, it’s all about the kingdom of me. Like Kevin Baugh, I don’t need anyone else. I don’t need another king. I don’t need anyone else. I have me.
Kingdoms in Conflict
Adam couldn’t live under a ruler who had given him utter freedom, but felt unduly burdened by just one rule hanging on a tree. It didn’t take but a few words of persuasion and Adam created his own government rule. And Eve was right in the mix, challenging Adam’s leadership, questioning what he heard from God. Every human since has had issues with authority and leadership. Humanity has rolled in a series of disastrous events from self-rule.
Power struggles are most evident in the duopoly of marriage. We are uncomfortable being alone, and even God recognizes that it’s “not good” (Gen. 2:18). But he created the two to now become one and to mutually submit. It’s a conundrum. We don’t want to be ruled by another, but hate the thought of absolute isolation.
And nations are ripe for conflict. Our founding fathers understood the snares of a single ruler. The idea of a king or a dictator would have never worked in the new society. So they created three branches of government, a checks-and-balance system.
You’re Not the Boss of Me
Our workplaces are full of mini-kingdoms. Accounting thinks they rule the roost, while sales thinks they are the most important function. The support group spends time in front of the mirror in self-admiration, while operations pats themselves on the back with hands that did the work.
And isn’t it interesting that bosses are often the subject of ridicule and the tag “incompetent”? We all think we can do the job better, but we don’t dare step into the role. “You’re not the boss of me,” oozes out in a thousand different insubordinations.
It’s easy to understand why people are reluctant to submit to rulers who are corrupt, incompetent, uninterested, or just plain evil. But why is it so hard to submit to rule that is just and compassionate and in one’s own best interest?
A New Rule
The Kingdom of Heaven is entirely different. The Kingdom of Heaven is just. It is fair. It is run on an entirely different set of principles. And when Jesus declared “another Kingdom,” he established new rules for us to live.
Jesus said, “the time has come. The Kingdom is near. Repent and believe the good news.” Mark 1:14-15.
There’s a royal problem when we allow the Kingdom of Me to coexist in the Kingdom of Heaven. War breaks out. The two sets of principles are so at odds that something has to give. You cannot live for yourself and live for God.
It doesn’t work.
The truth is that I’m a lousy king. I make selfish decisions. I don’t think about the long-term consequences of my decisions. I don’t consider others. I don’t live for anyone else.
It’s time to banish the Kingdom of Me and allow another King to rule.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” Matt. 6:33
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