Free to Live

6 min read

39 But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran off to Achish son of Maakah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.” 40 At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.
— 1 Kings 2:39-40

What in the world would have caused Shimei to risk his own life by leaving Jerusalem and breaking the oath that he had made to King Solomon? Did he simply forget? Were his slaves that valuable to him? Was it simply a matter of pride?

The point of this whole account of Solomon securing his power is what he told Shimei in verse 45: “But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure before the LORD forever.” But the security of David’s throne did not really depend upon Solomon’s ruthlessness, but on God’s faithfulness in Christ Jesus.

The main takeaway for us then is to act with faithfulness and wisdom under the covenant promises of God in Christ Jesus. Am I acting with wisdom and faithfulness as a child of God and as a servant of God in the kingdom of God? Am I going to go chasing after material property (or anything, for that matter) even if it might take me out of the “city of God” into “Philistine” kingdoms?

The Bible tells us that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And our story tells us that it is much wiser to be “imprisoned” in the kingdom of God and live than to be “free” in the world and die. Obviously, whether one is “imprisoned” or “free” is a state of mind. Shimei was as free as he ever needed to be until he wanted to get his slaves back.

I have had conversations with people in the past who seemed to be feeling “imprisoned” in their church community and in church life. They were constantly chasing after things that would take them away from church life, and when they returned, they would act as if they were somehow trapped.

I’ve come to see that their angst had a lot to do with the nature of their relationships with others in the church. Their relationships with people somehow mattered more than their relationship with Jesus. Their “faithfulness” was dependent upon human relationships in the church. If those relationship became broken for whatever reason, their relationship with Jesus was not enough to sustain their faithfulness in the community.

We all have the potential for being like Shimei. I have felt the angst of feeling like I am imprisoned. But the Holy Spirit has shown me that “if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with,” as that old song goes. And when we do, we start to experience what the Apostle John wrote:

12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
— 1 John 4:12

Father, I thank You that You have brought me into this GCC family and Canvas community. There have been some difficult times, but You have been faithful in growing our faithfulness as we persevere—especially in Your command to us to love one another. Grow our love for one another and make Your love complete in us. In Jesus’s name. Amen.