Let’s say your favorite team has been winning consistently for a few years now; say a good 6-7 year run of playoff contention at the least. The finances are steady, the team is well balanced, the farm system is still producing, and the veterans aren’t too old. You’ve got yourself a well oiled machine; one that doesn’t blow away other teams, but one that’s solid and you’re sure will be in the conversation come late September. The problem, though, is that the fans are tired of early exits in the playoffs. They want a ring. Lo and Behold, another team announces that their young superstar is for trade, though it would take a king’s ransom to acquire him. The fans cry out that this is the piece they need. This young buck will lead them to victory, and do all that the team has been unable to do for the last seven seasons. Some fans cry against it, saying it’s an all-in maneuver that is too risky if that player falters. Nonetheless, the team makes the move. The team’s top three prospects, their lights out closer, and lefty utility infielder are traded for the young superstar, and he comes to town. As a fan, you hope with everything that this one guy is everything he’s billed to be, and can do that which many men can not.

1 Samuel 8: 4-9

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now them, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

In a surprising twist, God allows the Israelites’ will despite the fact that he knows of its downfalls. He knows that a king may provide some benefits, but a king is still a man, and will take much from the people. The king will take servants, food, and tributes from the people, and will require all that goes along with a royal house. The fans wanted to take their time of peace in God and trade it all in for the young superstud king that the other teams have. The key here is that if you’re going to invest all you have into a king, make sure it’s a king that can’t fail. God sent his son down to die, and then eventually rise and return as our king, because Jesus can not fail. Jesus is the living word and God, who does not succumb to the sin of men. In times that life seems to be peaceful, don’t give in to the temptations of the heart, saying you can do better if you invest in the world. Invest in God, and glorify in the peace it brings. His kingdom will win it all soon enough, but for now we can win souls to his kingdom, and be all the happier because of it.