When I was a child growing up in Minneapolis, we used to play outside from sun up to sundown. We only came in the house to eat, use the bathroom, or check in with mom to see what she needed from us when she called. We lived to be outside with our friends, playing in the neighborhood. One of the games we played was called King of the Hill. Maybe you have played it with your friends. The goal of the game was to knock the “king” off the hill, so you could stand on the hill and declare yourself “king of the hill”. It was a moment of elation as you stood with hands raised and everyone knew you were the “king” for that moment. I say moment, because it wouldn’t be long before you were knocked off and someone else was declaring themselves to be the new “king of the hill”.

I was listening to a city council meeting online yesterday for the city in which I Iive as various citizens got up and explained why they wanted the council to vote yes or no to have a Gay Pride Parade in our city. One lady got up and said, “I am a gay conservative Republican, I have more in common with you than you know, and it is okay to be gay and Christian, so the council should vote yes on the parade.” Without missing a beat, I spoke back to the television and declared, “Who said?” Who said, it is okay to be gay and Christian? Who said? Is this what God said? Is this what the Bible said? Is this what your Pastor said? Who said? I was not mad at her, I was wanting to know, who said it’s okay to be gay and Christian?

The Lord led me to Judges 19-21, Judges 19:1 says, “Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel”; now listen to the the last verse in Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Book ends! When we live kingless, we act like we are “king of the hill”. However, we are not the King of anything, there is only one King and His name is Jesus Christ. If we choose to live without a King, we will set our own rules, standards and make our own decrees, but those who live with a King in their life are asking kingless people, “who said?” We can’t claim to be Christian and live without a King. Kings set the standard for their kingdom, not the citizens of the kingdom.