Judges 9:6 “And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.”
Do you like a story within a story? There is an interesting parable in the middle of the story of Gideon and his son, Abimelech. Did you know that Abimelech was the first man to claim the throne over Israel? Before King Saul and David, there was Abimelech. In fact, he had such a complex about the throne that he killed sixty-nine brothers to maintain his power! Jotham, the only brother who managed to escape, told a story to the men of Shechem. His story in Judges 9:8-15 almost reads like a fanciful kids’ story! Let’s use our imaginations and look at the story. . . .
The trees wanted to anoint a king to reign over them, and they first went to the olive tree. The olive tree was happy where he was, so the trees went to the fig tree. Again, the fig tree said that he was content where he was positioned. For their third attempt, the trees went to the vine, but the vine likewise declined. None of the candidates would leave what they were made to do, in order to pursue a self-promoting position. They were too busy being productive to be powerful! Finally, the trees found their king when they asked the lowly bramble.
Jotham used this parable to teach a lesson about his brother, Abimelech, and his lesson is worth our consideration this morning. In your work and in your life, you have a choice to go after being productive or being powerful. Power is not wrong; but if having power is your goal, you are mistaken! Power should be used to be productive.
Power is an explosion. Is an explosion good? Well, that depends on what you are talking about! Your car harnesses the power of explosions to get you where you need to go. Using that power is not wrong; you can use that power to be productive! On the other hand, can’t explosions be used for evil in the hands of men who crave power? Just look at the front page of the news to see some examples!
Is your goal to be productive or powerful? If your goal is to be productive, you will use whatever means (power) you have to accomplish that. If your goal is to be powerful, you will only produce in order to gain power. There is a profound difference that is determined only by what you are seeking!
What is your focus on this morning? Are you focused on serving, or are you focused on being served? What you have as your goal will determine how you accomplish things today. Are you seeking to help, or are you seeking a position? Be a Christian that seeks to be productive, not a person who seeks power and position. Use what you have to be productive for God today!