And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 1 Kings 16:31
When it comes to politics, it’s common for most of us to surround ourselves with voices that affirm our beliefs. If we’re conservative, most of us will get our news from a conservative source. Likewise, if we’re liberal, we’ll gravitate towards a liberal source. We’re naturally attracted to those voices that affirm our opinions, and we’re repelled by any voice that criticizes those opinions. The usual result of these identical voices bouncing back and forth is that our convictions are strengthened. Politics lends itself to this echo chamber as we become increasingly convinced that our side is always right and the opposition is always wrong. Most of us don’t seek to be challenged, so we subscribe either to one news channel or the other, and we avoid the lies of the other, knowing that it’s fake news. Surrounding ourselves with what we already are, we become more us-like.
Something similar happened in today’s passage, which tells of King Ahab’s marriage to Jezebel. As the religious and political leader of Israel, Ahab was supposed to point his people to God. Instead, like his predecessors, he allowed, participated in, and encouraged idol worship. He grew up with paganism and, surrounded by affirming voices, he did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him (1 Kings 16:30). When it came to marriage, he didn’t seek out a godly Israelite woman, who might challenge his wandering. Rather, he married the foreign Jezebel, who applauded his pursuit of foreign gods. Together, in their echo chamber of evil, they encouraged each other to outdo one another, becoming worse than either would have been on their own.
The lesson for me is that I must be careful about those with whom I surround myself. When I was using, I was secretive about my drug use, but still, I preferred to spend my time with those who drank and who encouraged me to drink as well. Now, if I want to enjoy recovery, I must spend my time with those who will challenge me in my recovery. It’s not wrong to surround myself with those who affirm my faith. In fact, I’d say it’s essential. I should, however, seek those who would challenge me and call me out when I’m wrong. I don’t want to live in an echo chamber that encourages me to become more me-like. Rather, I want to surround myself with those who challenge me to become more like who God wants me to be.