Noah feared God and led his family through the end of the world. Later his sons found him passed out drunk. God called King David a man after his own heart, yet David committed adultery and murder.
In spite of Biblical evidence to the contrary, Christians tend to see everyone like characters in a western movie: good guys wear white hats, bad guys wear black hats, and everyone must pick a side.
Trump is seen by many as pure good (in spite of a long record of evils), but Trump’s Chief Medical Advisor, Anthony Fauci, is seen as pure evil (in spite of Trump’s faith in him). Such a black and white view is wrong. People are not all good or all bad. Consider King Hezekiah.
Hezekiah was a good king. He “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” 2 Kings 18:3. Hezekiah abolished idol worship and he “trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that THERE WAS NONE LIKE HIM AMONG ALL THE KINGS OF JUDAH AFTER HIM, NOR AMONG THOSE WHO WERE BEFORE HIM. For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments … and the Lord was with him; wherever he went, he prospered.” 2 Kings 18:4-7.
Hezekiah sounds like the perfect king. He encouraged his people and prayed them through an attack from the King of Assyria. In times of national crisis, King Hezekiah seems to have done everything right.
But Hezekiah could also be self-centered. When Isaiah came to him with a message from God that the ill king should “get his affairs in order” because he was about to die, King Hezekiah turned to the wall and wept bitterly, praying for God to give him more time. God answered his prayer and Isaiah returned minutes later to tell him he would be healed and live another 15 years. The king was relieved, of course, and admitted his selfishness: “it was for my own welfare that I had such great bitterness” Isaiah 38:17.
Hezekiah knows he has been spared. But during those remaining years, his focus on himself and his accomplishments continued. When the king of Babylon sent him a gift, Hezekiah gave the Babylonians “the grand tour,” showing them every treasure in Israel. Isaiah rebuked him, saying one day everything he showed off would be carried away to Babylon, and the king’s own descendants would be made eunuchs to serve in the Babylonian palace. How did Hezekiah respond? Tear his clothes? Shave his beard? Pour ashes on his head? No.
“Then Hezekiah said, ‘The word of the Lord is good,’ for he thought, ‘At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime’” 2 Kings 20:19.
What an incredible example of a man thinking only of himself! Yet Hezekiah remains one of the great kings. The point is, no one is ALL GOOD or ALL BAD. People you love will fail you. People you despise will surprise you by doing the right thing sometimes.
God, deliver us from simplistic thinking that would divide everyone into black hats and white hats. Remind us that the best among us is a sinner saved by grace.
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