Have you ever covered up, compromised, tossed something in the closet instead of fixing it?
What teenager is not the master of this? Sliding shoes and dirty laundry under the bed in an attempt to “clean up.”
(I may or may not have done this very same thing when I was a kid…)
Some of us have held onto those childhood habits…and we even see this in scripture.
Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and King David’s grandson, attempted to take over the throne after his father. But when the Egyptians raided the temple his dad had built, they made off with beautiful golden shields that were mounted on the walls of the temple.
So Rehoboam covered up. He had bronze shields made to replace them. (I Kings 14) He didn’t consult God or even one of the prophets. He didn’t consider whether or not he should go after those shields, with God’s help.
No, he covered up.
From gold—glittering, sparkling and pure—to bronze.
An alloy, a mixture, a compromise.
In life and relationships, covering up what you can clean up results in an even bigger mess.
Why?
A cover up is a compromise—from gold to bronze. In marriage, why settle for bronze? Our marriages gleamed in their early days. Why not now? We hold ourselves to such a high standard in so many areas, but we so often settle for second best in our marriages. In all the glory of their gold, they’ll reflect Him!
When the rulers and the prophets of the Old Testament truly wanted to bring glory to God, they went to Him for advice. They didn’t try to fix things themselves; they listened and obeyed.
Want to clean up? Go to Him first. Ask for forgiveness, wisdom—for His eyes to see the situation.
Ask for a desire for more than bronze, and for His help to make that happen.
Linking up today with Beth for Wedded Wednesday.
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3 comments:
I've been reading through 1st Samuel and see this tendency in Saul's life over and over. I suppose it is part of the human condition, as you've pointed out earlier, Laura Lee. I know that I've carried this childhood habit of "cleaning things up" into my adulthood and marriage. But I want my default to always be to turn to God for help and redemption. I'm getting there, but have far to go! Thanks for this important reminder to let Him make all things new. Great words, my friend!
Wow! That's really good. It was good from the beginning and Rehoboam's example lends itself to many different topics, but I appreciate that you chose marriage. Great post.
You know - I have never caught this story before the way that you shared it! I love it when I read a nugget of truth from scripture that I've never seen before. What a powerful, powerful story!! Thank you so much for stopping by A Little R & R and sharing about this blog post so I could come and read it. It gave me much to think about today.
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