Everyone Else Is Doing It

But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations . . .” 1 Samuel 8:19-20

Before I went off to kindergarten, my parents were the dominant voice speaking into my life. With a pastor for a father, growing up in a Christian home, you can imagine what those dominant messages were. So, I went off to school confident in my knowledge about a lot of things. As I grew though, attending elementary school, high school, and eventually college, the volume of my parent’s voice speaking into my life diminished dramatically. At the same time, the voice of my friends, teachers, and the rest of the world grew dramatically. These messages were often contradictory to the messages I’d gotten at home.

Attending a college with a Christian heritage, I once asked a biology professor how he reconciled his faith (and the book of Genesis) with his scientific beliefs. He looked at me like I was an imbecile, not even bothering to answer. Anyone who believed what I believed when I was five years old was simply too stupid to engage in discussion. Looking around, I saw that everyone agreed with my professor and suddenly, I was far less confident in my worldview. Surrounded by voices that mocked what I once believed, with no voice speaking in support of those beliefs, my faith was shaken. Fortunately, I had to figure it out for myself and eventually discovered the writings of Christian scientists who could help me reconcile my faith with science.*

The dominant voices in our lives – whether they are healthy or not – often determine our beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors. This is what Samuel discovered in today’s passage. In the story, Samuel, as God’s prophet, taught his people to follow God as king. He was only one man though, with no PR firm or social media. All he had was his voice, which simply couldn’t compete with the cacophony of voices speaking into the Israelite’s ears. Samuel tried, but God’s people saw that all the nations around them had kings, and they wanted one too. Listening to the world shaped their thoughts, opinions, and behaviors, leading them to rebel against God.

The lesson for me is that I must be careful about the voices I allow to speak into my life. I’m not saying I should stick my head in the sand, insulating myself from everything. That challenge to my faith in college was good for me, causing me to grow. I am saying though, that I must daily take time to read, pray, and listen to God. If all I ever listen to is TV, social media, and the world, while ignoring God’s voice, then I’m going to have a terribly skewed mindset, which will inevitably affect my thoughts, words, and actions, taking my life in a direction contrary to the life God intends for me.

*The Language of God by Francis Collins was a book I found terribly helpful in reconciling my faith with my scientific beliefs. I highly recommend it to anyone struggling with scientific challenges to their faith.