Men of BoldnessSample

Go With the Flow?

There are some very inspiring young people in the world today. Kids who are setting out to change the way things are done and are making a difference in big and small ways. From helping to clothe people to advocating for the environment, kids’ voices are being heard, and they are making a difference.

This is nothing new. Young people have always been able to make a difference: “Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign” (2 Kings 22:1).

There are two main things that Josiah is remembered for. The first is for restoring the Temple. Josiah invested in the materials necessary to repair the Temple and restore some of its former beauty.

The second thing is that when the Book of the Law was found after being ignored for many years, he led the way for a national repentance and recommitment to the rightful worship of Yahweh.

But there is something fascinating in Josiah’s story that we may read past. To catch it, let’s connect verse 2 with verses 3 and 8:

“He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left…In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord… Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, ‘I have found the Book of the Law in the Temple of the Lord.’ He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.”

Do you see it?

For 18 years, Josiah reigned and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord…before the lost Book of the Law was found in the Temple!

Josiah seems to have had an innate sense of what was right and wrong and chose to do what was right. That may not seem like such a big deal, but it is a sharp break from his family history.

The irony here is that though Josiah was a young man, he boldly split from both his father and grandfather in how they reigned and what they did. Manasseh (grandfather) began his reign at 12 and “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 21:2), as did Amon (father), who began his reign at 22 and did the same (2 Kings 21:19-20).

Our nurture is very important, men. The environment we are raised in and the actions and attitudes we are exposed to, no doubt, have a significant impact on who we are.

Yet, it is not the only determining factor. As Paul reminds us in Romans 1-2, despite our fallenness, we have an intuitive sense of what is right. We must take responsibility for ourselves and our actions. As Josiah teaches us, we can be men who boldly choose a new direction.

Prayer: God, it is far too easy to fit into our environment and “go with the flow” even when the flow is in the wrong direction. Help me to know and do what is pleasing in Your sight, regardless of what is around me. Amen.

Reflection: What have you grown up with that you have had to leave behind? How did you know that you needed to break from what others have done?