Part of my childhood was spent living on the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The neighborhood I lived in was close to some woods with a creek and beaver pond where the beavers had built a dam. There were these two neighbor brothers that I ran around with . . . Mikey and Butchy. Mikey was my age and Butchy was the older one. I idolized Butchy . . . he was everything his brother wasn’t. He was good looking, strong, adventurous, and daring. Though only two years older than Mikey and me, I worshipped the ground he walked on. I wanted to be like him.
One winter day the three of headed off for an adventure in the snowy woods. We hiked around in the woods until the afternoon sun started setting over the mountains. In order to save time and our rear-ends to get home before we were in trouble, Butchy decided that the fastest was back was over the creek at the beaver pond. Being winter the pond was frozen . . . or at least it looked frozen. Of course, as a kid the way that you tested the strength of the ice was to throw a rock up into the air and let it land on the ice. If the ice cracked or broke . . . well, it wasn’t safe to walk on.
Butchy threw the rock . . . nothing happened.
The bigger and heavier Butchy went across first. Then Mikey went. Both safely made it across. So, with great confidence I stepped onto the ice and began making my way across. Half-way across there was a loud cracking sound followed by a splashing sound as I fell through the ice. I was engulfed in cold water and ice up to my chest. Luckily the pond was not too deep and getting out was quick, but I was soaked and freezing. The mile back home was one of the coldest I ever did.
What did Butchy and his brother do . . . they laughed. I didn’t think it was so funny. When I got home and removed my stiff frozen clothes, I was covered with leeches. But, hey! I still wanted to be like Butchy.
Another time we were kicking a ball around our houses. To the side of where we were playing were two dogs chained in their yard. They were barking and growling the whole time we were playing. Every so often someone would kick the ball into the dogs’ yard . . . growling and snarling . . . challenging anyone to just come and get the ball.
Of course, Butchy had no fear. He just ran up to the ball, grabbed it, and ran back. The dogs did nothing. The next time that the ball was kicked up by the dogs, I volunteered to get it. After all, if my idol could get the ball safely, surely, I could too. So, I ran up to the ball between the two dogs. Not even a whimper out of them. I picked it up . . . turned around . . . and, started walking back to the group. I hadn’t taken three steps when one of those dog latched onto my calf and bit me hard. It hurt like . . . well, you know what it hurt like. But, I still wanted to be like Butchy.
How silly of me. All Butchy ever got me was a lot of pain and trouble.
Be careful what you wish for.
Our scripture reading comes from the Old Testament book of I Samuel, the prophet. Samuel plays a key role in the transition of God’s people from a tribal system to a kingdom. In fact, the story we hear this morning is that conversation between Samuel and the people wanting to be like other people . . . they want a king. Samuel discusses this with God. God tells Samuel to let it be . . . give them what they want but warn them. Warn them about what it could mean if they become like others under the rule of a king.
Of course, Samuel is not thrilled with the idea of a king. Neither is God. God gets it. It has been a tough ride for the people and God knows that they are not happy campers. In their unhappiness they notice that it seems like other people . . . other nations . . . have it a lot easier. They begin to long for something different, something like everyone else has. That is their desire and they let Samuel know, who in turn lets God know. Their complaint is not with Samuel . . . it is with God.
Basically, God says, “Okay. Let them have their king.” Then God pauses before he tells Samuel to warn them what it means to have a king. God tells the prophet: “Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” Then God reels off a whole list of things about the autocratic leadership’s expectation as king . . . their sons will be drafted to serve in the king’s military, their daughters will be taken and made to work in the palace as servants, the crops and fields will be taken from them for the kingdom, a tax—a tenth of their crops will be taken from them, and they will become slaves to their king.
Samuel did as God told him to do. The people refused to listen. They wanted a king just like everyone else. They declared, “Then we will be like all the other nations . . .” Next thing you know, the people have their king. Saul is made the king in the presence of God. There was a great celebration as the warning from God fades in the noise of celebration.
Be careful what you ask for.
Here’s the problem . . . none us of were created by God to be like anyone else. All of us must be who God created us to be. Yet, we all have longed to be like others at different points throughout our lives. We’ve wanted to be like others as we perceive them to have better lives and things than we have. We have all longingly looked over the fence thinking that the grass was greener. Yet we have been warned . . . as Erma Bombeck used to say, “The grass is always greener over the septic tank.”
Forewarned we still push ahead longing to be like someone besides ourselves.
It is too bad that we spend so much of our lives longing to be something other than who God created us to be. We can blame it on the pressure of society . . . a society that is constantly pushing us to be something that we are not. We could blame it on peer pressure and the need to belong. We could blame it our own insecurity. We could blame it on whatever we want to blame it on, but the fact is that we all carry that longing within us to be something else . . . to be like others.
Our stubbornness as human beings with free will can get us into a lot of hot water if we are not careful. Knowing the story of Israel from our Old Testament, we know that being like other people—like other nations—creates lots of havoc and hardship.
And, so it will for us in our life journeys.
I eventually got over my infatuation and fascination with Butchy. I got tired of falling through the ice . . . getting bit by dogs . . . and, basically getting into trouble. And, you would have thought that I learned my lesson; but there were others I longed to be. Even now in my ripening age there are moments that I catch myself longing to be like others I see and know. With perfect 20/20 hindsight I can see that in those moments of my life where I attempted to be someone else . . . well, it didn’t turn out for the best.
And, it never will. It never will because God expect each of us to strive to be the best as who we were created to be. To be ourselves. That is what God wants. God wants us to be ourselves. And, for most of us we have spent a lifetime trying to be ourselves . . . to be who God creates us to be. God tries to warn us about this . . . to warn us that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence, and if it is, then it is probably over the septic tank.
The bottom line is that we cannot be anyone else. We are who we are as created by God. Israel longed to be like other people—other nations; but in the end this brought to them difficult times and heartache. We know because we can read about it in the Old Testament.
As the children of God, we are created in God’s holy image. It is God’s desire that we discover fully who we are as a child of God . . . to be who we were created to be. It is journey of a lifetime that we discover who we are. That is who God wants to know. When we long to be like others we deny ourselves the gift and blessing of knowing . . . really knowing who we are as that holy chip off the old block. That is the person that God wants to relate to . . . to be intimate with. God wants you and me, not somebody else that we are not.
We have been warned about the pitfalls of wanting to be like others. Let us rejoice in who God created us to be . . . after all we are the children of God. In us is blessing and grace and love . . . for ourselves, for others, and for God. What more could any of us desire? God is good and so are we. Amen.
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