Who Is Your King?

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel… and said to him, ‘…Appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.’ And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.’ ” ~1 Samuel 8:4-7

Perhaps you’ve heard the very moving and somewhat provocative audio clip of the late Dr. S. M. Lockridge (1913-2000). In it he spends over three minutes extemporaneously declaring beautiful truths about Jesus. He says things like, “He’s enduringly strong; He’s entirely sincere; He’s eternally steadfast; He’s immortally graceful; He’s imperially powerful; He’s impartially merciful…He sympathizes and He saves; He guards and He guides; He heals the sick; He cleansed the lepers; He forgives sinners; He discharges debtors; He delivers the captives; He defends the feeble; He serves the unfortunate; He regards the aged...” After several lines of poetic reflection on the person of Jesus, Dr. Lockridge repeatedly declares, “That’s my King!”

I wonder… have you considered lately who is your king? Is it Jesus, or like Israel in the Old Testament, have you functionally rejected Him from being king over you? Here’s the issue: we try to reject Christ’s kingship because we want autonomy. But in reality, we cannot truly be autonomous. There is no such thing as absolute autonomy. True and absolute autonomy denies creatureliness. It rejects God’s Creator-ness. It flies in the face of our created purpose, which is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. No one is truly autonomous since all people live in God’s universe.

Since true autonomy is a myth, we must necessarily be serving something — be under the authority of something or someone. We are subject to something. We are worshiping something. We have something — or someone — as our king. So who is your king? To what are you submitting? What do you worship? Is it your bank account? Is it your social media followers? Is it your spouse or children’s happiness? Is it rest and ease? Is it peace and quiet? Is it material possessions?

Maybe you’re wondering how you can determine who is your king. Let me encourage you to audit four things: first, scrutinize your bank statement. Second, read over your social media feed (or texts, if you don’t have social media). Third, examine your emotions. Fourth, look at your calendar. How does this work? Someone once said that you can determine what your idols are by examining your time, your energy, your money, and your emotions. In other words, what you spend money on, talk about, get excited (or mad) about, and spend your time on — that thing is your king.

My dear friends, you and I are all serving something. But the Bible tells us that we can only have one true master (Matt. 6:24). Who is your king? Are you giving your time, energy, words, emotions, or money chiefly to something or someone other than Christ? Let me challenge all of us to consider Jesus, who alone is worthy of our time, talents, and treasure. He alone deserves our worship. And He alone is truly King, so let us serve Him and Him alone.

Rev. Kyle Lockhart, Pastor of Teaching & Spiritual Formation