Scripture

Our verse for today comes from 2 Kings 6:29, ” So we boiled my son and ate him. And on the next day I said to her, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him.’ But she has hidden her son.” 

Background

Yes, you read that correctly. This woman has cooked and eaten her child. Struck by an awful famine in Samaria, these two women agree to make meals out of their sons in order to stay alive. But when it comes time for the woman who suggested the plan to follow through, she does not, and the other mom is upset. She wants the king to force the woman to do . . . what’s right. She wants the king to make the lady cook her son like she agreed to. That was the deal, and it’s only fair if both of them do what they said they were going to do. You can’t say you’ll cook your son if someone else will go first, and then not follow through when it’s your turn. That’s not right. This woman had been cheated, and she must be vindicated. This was no time to give in. That would certainly not be fair. 

Application

And so we dig in our heels, refusing to back down. Forget the fact that we may be arguing with our spouse about something as unanswerable or irrelevant as who is more tired, or who does more, or why $10 was spent on this instead of that. We’re not interested in seeing that we’ve just sacrificed our child, we only want to make sure that the others involved know that we did our part, and someone else is not keeping their part of the bargain. It doesn’t matter that we’re yelling at each other about who knows what, as long as we get to be the one who yells last. Let’s not clutter up the issue with common sense, love, or, God forbid, grace. We’ve got a point to make, and we know what’s right, so we’ll let the cards just fall where they may. But it’s an ugly scene. And we’ve all lived it, perhaps more recently than we’d care to admit. The pride that won’t let us let it go, eventually gets humbled. Our cause, that for which we fought tooth and nail, is exposed as a thin veil to our need to be right, belittle, and be heard. We’re not justifying boiling our child, but we’re just as wayward from the path Jesus put us on. So stop the insanity before it begins. Say no to your pride and lay down your rights. Sacrifice yourself, so nothing else has to die in the carnage. 

Charge

As we seek Him today, bow before Christ so that you’ll be able to bow before all others. Don’t sacrifice what counts for what matters only to you.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words