1 Samuel 2

If some quack psychic (are there any other kind?) read the dregs of my toothpaste spittle (or whatever the heck it is those charlatans do) and proclaimed, "This person is a strapping athlete of great renown," the cachinnations of those who know me would be long and loud. And I would not hesitate to join in their mirth. I never had any talent for sports, never had any desire to increase my muscle mass, and wasn't exactly the biggest fan of P.E. (Except in elementary school when we got to play with the parachute.) And yet somehow, I've found that I'm a bit of a runner. About a week ago, I ran in a half-marathon--my fourth. And partway through, I encountered the gremlin that makes all runners shudder with fear--the dreaded leg cramp. Fortunately, it didn't take me too much time to get over it.

Needless to say, I didn't get a personal best. But for the last quarter mile or so of the race, I was able to do what I've never done at the end of any of my previous half-marathons--sprint. I still had energy to spare. I realize that this situation isn't quite what Hannah had in mind in verse 4 of her prayer: "but those who stumbled are armed with strength." (For one, my sprinting at the end of the race shows that I didn't pace myself correctly.) But when I "stumbled" during the race, you can bet your top, middle, and bottom dollar that I called on God to get me through. And from there, I relied on His help to not just finish, but finish strong.

Eli's sons, on the other hand, aren't really finishing much of anything in this chapter (OK, with the exception of the sacrificial meat they're dishonestly procuring). Instead, they themselves are about to be finished. I'm struggling to think of some fancy adjective that most befits Eli's sons, but I can't come up with anything better than wrong. Swindling meat from the sacrificial offering? Wrong! Browbeating offerers of said sacrifices? Wrong! Getting it on "with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting" (verse 22)? Wrong! (Now I'm starting to sound like...well, I'll refrain from entering the mire of contemporary politics.)

Basically, Eli's sons are abusing their positions of privilege and power. Nothing new and, unfortunately, not something that's going to go away anytime soon. But what makes it worse is that Eli's sons are supposed to be doing God's work. Not just the work of a business or a country. The work of God. Yes, it's easy for me to condemn them, and yes, it sucks to be Eli. But the reprimands of verses 27-36 give me pause: As a follower of Christ, I should be doing His work. Am I abusing my position if I choose to withhold God's love from others just because I don't feel like showing it? Just as I allowed God to help me through the final leg of the half-marathon, I also must allow God to perform His work in and through me. Otherwise, I'll find myself stalled with not a leg cramp but with a life cramp. (Though just what form a life cramp takes, I have no idea. Maybe it means having to make a living as a quack psychic.)