Growing up, my mom ran a daycare in our house, The great part of that was we had a humongous amount of toys at home. The bad part was that I had to share all of them with a dozen other kids. A toy I partially disliked sharing was my Legos. For whatever reason, we had decided that the Lego light pieces were jewels and the most desirable pieces. We consistently fought over them, hoarding them and declaring ourselves the richest. It drove me crazy when I didn’t have the most, as I reasoned that as it was my house it was really all my kingdom. I was therefore known to sneak downstairs at night and rob the jewels of others, ensuring that King Andy always reigned supreme. Well, that was until a an actual fight broke out over my grand larceny and my mother put a lock on the Lego cabinet.
Here’s the point: pretty much everyone in the world has moments where they think part of the world is their kingdom. It may be in our house, on our land, at our job, or at our church. We may even come to accept other people as kings and queens, being influenced by their cars, clothing, social media accounts, successes, etc. Every time we start seeing something as our kingdom, or as that of another, we are greatly missing the point. There should only be one Kingdom, and that is the Kingdom of God.
So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Romans 14:16-19
In Jesus’ day there was only one authority in a kingdom: the King. You either obeyed the King or…well it didn’t end well for you. A king, however, only has power in his own kingdom. Outside of that his authority meant little and there was little reason to obey him. The reality is, the Kingdom of God is everywhere. There does not exist a place where God should not be followed and obeyed. We should not be worried about our wants or the approval of others, but focused on serving God and obey His plan. There should be no place where we usurp Him as king, making our own rules for our own benefit. We also should not be following anyone else, regardless of their power and influence, if they lead in an ungodly manner. So, whose Kingdom are you living in? Is it yours, or is it God’s? Are you ready to fully obey the King of Kings?
