This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, the supporting terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not completely destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them as slaves, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for forced labor. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, government officials, officers and captains in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers.
1 Kings 9:15,20-22
Dear God, my thought as I considered this story this morning was that sometimes we just have no idea that what we are doing is wrong. I makes sense to us because it’s the societal norm, but it’s just wrong. The hard part is figuring out what is wrong and what isn’t. What moral compass do we use to draw that line? In this case, I could, indeed, use the Bible to endorse slavery of conquered people.
Of course, there are all kinds of things that people argue over today, and they will try to use the Bible as their moral compass. Homosexuality and abortion are two glaring examples, and while I have definite opinions about one of them, I am very uncertain about how I feel about the other. What am I to do?
I think that part of the New Covenant that Jesus brought is adding love to everything. When in doubt, add love. When I want to judge someone for their substance abuse–add love. When I want to judge someone for being gay or getting an abortion–add love. When I want to judge someone for being an illegal immigrant, or even for being a hater, add love. I watched the movie 12 Angry Men last night. What would that room have looked like if someone who legitimately thought the young man was guilty still had love for him? I guess that’s what the Henry Fonda character kind of did, but it wasn’t quite what I’m talking about.
Father, help me to have love for others. Help me to turn loose of judging them and to simply have compassion and love for them. Even for those who do bad things to me, help me to love them anyway. Help me to be an extension of your grace and love to them. Do it for my good as much as anything else.
In Jesus’s name I pray,
Amen
Emails to God 