An Illusion of Control

 Pul king of Assyria came against the land; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his control.  2 Kings 15:19

King Pul deserves a nod for keeping his name simple, or perhaps not, as Pul may have been, as we tend to do, a shortened version of something too complex for the writer of 2 Kings to remember or spell. Today though, the subject is the illusion of control that money might give us. 

Menahem tried to buy off Pul, and he did it by taxing the rich, and it seemed to work for a time. However, Menahem is among the many kings of Israel introduced to us in these latter years by, "and he did evil in the sight of the Lord." Uh oh, it would seem that buying off the enemy is not what the Lord would have us to do. And as going to money is much the same as running to Egypt when the Lord desires us to come to Him in prayer, yes, we can see that this was not the right answer. 

The dangerous thing is that these worldly answers seem to work for a time. King Pul did take his little name and go home. The rich people taxed could likely afford it and they probably did not forget it either. The poor seemed to get off easy in this case. But, the problem was that it was not the best answer; the answer the Lord desired of Israel: come to Him. 

We have that same choice: try a worldly answer first or come to the Lord in prayer first. Sitting here with a cuppa after breakfast, the answer seems obvious. When the tribulations come though, best to recall that obvious answer real quick! It may not seem so obvious in the moment when we seek control by our own means. 

Have a great day and seek the Lord in prayer!

Bucky