Don't Be a Copycat

2 weeks ago, we talked about the Israelites' disappointment with Saul's appointment as King. This was significant because the Israelites specifically asked for a king. And God, against His true desire for His people, gave them a king anyway: King Saul. Yet still, many of them were unsatisfied.

So, we've already determined that the outcome of this request made them ungrateful. But let's dive into the nature of the request itself.

The Israelites said, "... now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have" [1 Samuel 8:5]. I repeat, "SUCH AS ALL THE OTHER NATIONS." The Israelites' first mistake was desiring to be that which they are not. And we all do it.

We see how someone else styled their thrifted "mom jeans" and think, 💡 "dang, I didn't even think about that typa combination. I'm gonna try that next time!" And yal, a large majority of the time, it's SO innocent. That's the joy of the diverse culture + society we live in. Each person's difference can be inspiration for the next. Fresh, never-before-thought-of ideas that you didn't originally think of yourself, but thanks to the stranger on aisle 10 shopping for candles, you now know what you'll wear to your friend's dinner party that night. BUT! When it starts to look and feel like erasing you to be more like them is when it becomes problematic because the ripple works both ways. Yea, Candle Stranger inspired you, but I guarantee in that same breath, you'd already inspired someone else. We don't need a Candle Stranger Copycat.

Come on, every cloning movie always ends in horrendous disaster. So please, don't do that next thing so you can be more like "all the other nations." Instead, do it because you + it = never-before-seen combo that just further adds to who you already are.