In Search of a King (1)
Series: In Search of a King: The Book of Samuel
Patrick Edwards
1 Samuel 1:1, 1 Samuel 2:11
Introduction
You’re constantly being sold something. Commercials seek to convince you that with the right car you’ll enjoy all the perks of luxury living, or with the right beer you’ll have endless evenings of fun and friendship. Social media bombards you with images of what it looks like to have the perfect date or weekend getaway, the kinds of dinner you should be cooking or the kind of family you should be having. News outlets tell you what you should be thinking, primarily by creating ideological enemies that are coming to destroy your life or have been doing so for decades all ready. What do all of these things have in common? They make promises: promises of happiness, promises of prosperity, promises of fulfillment, promises of security. They are all marketing themselves to you in one way or another that they can satisfy those needs in your life, those holes deep down inside. And we buy, we consume, we watch, and we take it all in. Many of us do so without a second thought, completely unaware of what we’re doing, but nevertheless finding some sort of fleeting satisfaction in the moment. That’s why we keep coming back. We get a little of what we’re looking for, but nowhere near the fullness of what we hunger for. We get filled for a bit, but then it’s gone. So, we come back; we need more. Give me more Netflix, more Hulu, more Tucker Carlson or Cuomo Prime Time. Give me a nicer car, or more to drink; a new T.V. or a new couch. More and more and more, convinced that these things are all I need because this is all there is. We live lives of quiet desperation in search of that guarantee of prosperity, security, and fulfillment. Or to put in terms of the Old Testament book of Samuel, we live in search of a king. We, of course, don’t phrase it this way in our 21st c. midwestern context; right, we got rid of that whole king thing back in 1776. ...
Series: In Search of a King: The Book of Samuel
Patrick Edwards
1 Samuel 1:1, 1 Samuel 2:11
Introduction
You’re constantly being sold something. Commercials seek to convince you that with the right car you’ll enjoy all the perks of luxury living, or with the right beer you’ll have endless evenings of fun and friendship. Social media bombards you with images of what it looks like to have the perfect date or weekend getaway, the kinds of dinner you should be cooking or the kind of family you should be having. News outlets tell you what you should be thinking, primarily by creating ideological enemies that are coming to destroy your life or have been doing so for decades all ready. What do all of these things have in common? They make promises: promises of happiness, promises of prosperity, promises of fulfillment, promises of security. They are all marketing themselves to you in one way or another that they can satisfy those needs in your life, those holes deep down inside. And we buy, we consume, we watch, and we take it all in. Many of us do so without a second thought, completely unaware of what we’re doing, but nevertheless finding some sort of fleeting satisfaction in the moment. That’s why we keep coming back. We get a little of what we’re looking for, but nowhere near the fullness of what we hunger for. We get filled for a bit, but then it’s gone. So, we come back; we need more. Give me more Netflix, more Hulu, more Tucker Carlson or Cuomo Prime Time. Give me a nicer car, or more to drink; a new T.V. or a new couch. More and more and more, convinced that these things are all I need because this is all there is. We live lives of quiet desperation in search of that guarantee of prosperity, security, and fulfillment. Or to put in terms of the Old Testament book of Samuel, we live in search of a king. We, of course, don’t phrase it this way in our 21st c. midwestern context; right, we got rid of that whole king thing back in 1776. ...
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