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Week Thirty-Four, Day Five

I Kings 22

King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah decided to work together to push back the Syrians. This might have been the beginning of a new partnership and even reunification, but, as the very first battle begins, Ahab is hit by a stray arrow that finds its way through a gap in his armor.

It would be fascinating to read a history of the impact of incidental and accidental events on human history. How much of our own life has been shaped by accidental or incidental events? We might be able to identify some of them, but many have passed unnoticed until after the impact has been felt. The archer who simply let his arrow fly had no idea that the king was even in the battle, and probably never knew that he might have dramatically changed history.

That, of course, is a parable about most of the arrows we release in life. We may never know the impact we have had. Unfortunately, that is as negatively true as it is positively. That is why we need to discipline our lives to releasing more cupid arrows of love than arrows of war/anger/resentment.

Ahab’s life ends, and so does the book of 1 Kings. The book actually ends with a few sentences about Ahaziah, the son of Ahab and Jezebel. His reign apparently was short, and the author certainly shed no tears over that. His summary was “like father (and mother), like son.”

Few of us have famous parents or infamous ones. Still, I am dismayed by how much our parents continue to shape our lives long after we have lived more years apart from them than we did with them. Increasingly, I hear my mother or father speaking through my mouth, especially in dealing with my children. It seems the human tendency is to either demonize or deify our parents, when the truth almost always is that they were a blend of good and bad, healthy and unhealthy. Perhaps if we really understand and accept that, we would come closer to understanding and accepting that about ourselves.

Only as we accept our faults and weaknesses can we work on them. Only by embracing and celebrating our strengths and gifts, though, do we have the confidence and self-esteem to dare to be honest about our faults. Both sides of that are often “gifts” from our parents. Accepting honestly the gifts and the curses of our heritage with humor and humility seems to be as tough for kings as it is for subjects.

Blessings,

Michael
President, Hope for Peace & Justice

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