1 Kings 3:1, 3 (ESV)

1 Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.

³ Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places.

I always had the impression as I grew up that something nefarious was going on when Israel sacrificed at the high places. I assumed that some pagan ritual such as human sacrifice or ritual prostitution was happening. It was not that long ago that I learned that they were not sacrificing to some pagan deity, they were sacrificing to the LORD, the God of the Bible.

The problem is that by sacrificing on the high places, they were not worshiping God in the prescribed manner. While to our 21st Century ears, this does not seem to be a large compromise, it is a deviation from God’s plan for Israel.

Solomon also compromised in the area of matrimony. He was not to marry a Gentile, nor was he to rely on anyone or anything other than God for his support. Through his marriage Solomon allied himself with Pharaoh, trusting in Egypt for support against Israel’s enemies.

Before I am too hard on Solomon and Israel, I have to examine myself to see in what ways I am allowing the culture around me to push me toward compromise. The question is not if I compromise but how and where it happens —and what am I willing to do about it.

Am I willing to be called out by God, Scripture or my friends on those areas where I knowingly or unknowingly go against Scripture? Am I willing to step out in faith and be counter-cultural, whether it be against the culture of established religion or against agnostic society?

I have failed in this and I have also seen progress. By God’s grace, I keep pressing on, trusting in the promise of Philippians 1:6.

1 Samuel 24:6 (ESV)

⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.”

As I read this, i thought of Romans 13:1-2 where Paul informs us that our leaders are appointed by God and as a result should be treated with respect.

Throughout all of Paul’s letters he is curiously a-political, indicating that Paul’s mission was not affected by whoever was in power at the time.

Putting these two passages together, I conclude that I should be very careful in what I say about our political leaders. I believe that we have the responsibility to speak out when given the opportunity to present a Biblical perspective on current issues. In speaking out, we should be very careful in making sure that it does not degenerate into ad hominem attack.

I am to speak the truth in love. It is too easy to say what I think is truth and speak it in the absence of love. I resolve to speak only what I feel God has prompted me to speak (or write) and make sure it passes the love test before hitting the send key.

I’m busted because I’ve said some things about current leadership that do not pass the love test. God has allowed the leaders to occupy the positions that they have. It is my responsibility to be obedient to what God leads me to do and leave the leaders in God’s hands. He is big enough to deal with them in his own way and in his own time.