Proverbs 25:2-10

It’s one of those things that afflicts people in leadership positions time and time again. It can be easy for leaders to do things without telling anyone why they’re doing those things. Leaders may have perfectly good reasons for doing those things. They may benefit the company, the project group, or whatever the case may be, but those under them would really like transparency. There are a lot of good reasons why transparency is a good thing. Leaders are sinners too, and sometimes they don’t do things that are for the common good. They need to be held accountable for those actions. If leaders are intentionally subverting the laws or lying to those they are meant to rule, that sin needs to be addressed.

That’s why transparency with governments and leadership can be a very good thing. We all know the temptation. If you think you can get away with something without being caught, you’re a lot more likely to try it. If government officials have the power to hide their underhanded dealings, it’s quite possible they will try and do just that. The church has a responsibility to shine the light of truth into the darkness. Requiring transparency means that the actions of leaders will be scrutinized and that, knowing they can’t hide, they may be less likely to do things they shouldn’t. Even people of good moral character, who aren’t prone to those kinds of things, may find themselves tempted if the opportunity arises. Transparency need not be something we desire because we mistrust those in power, but because we want to help those in authority stay true to their calling by reminding them that they are accountable for their actions.

Greater levels of power and authority also mean greater temptations. We want our leaders to be good and responsible leaders. But we also know we are all sinners and that everyone slips up at one point or another. Prodding those in authority to be open about their goals and intentions is a way of carrying out our duty as the church to help each other. Helping others defend against sin and temptation is a good and righteous work. Of course, things a leader does in his role as a leader are one thing. What he might do on his own or in his private family life are another. It can be easy to set unrealistic expectations for transparency and overstep the boundaries into someone’s private life.

Still, that sort of idea should also get you thinking. There can be areas where transparency isn’t just an intrusion, but is actually dangerous. National security, war plans, secret negotiations, undercover operations, and many more things can be destructive and even deadly if made public before the appropriate time. Sometimes leaders need to be left to do the work they’ve been given to do and those under them need to trust those leaders to do their job.

Hearing that you don’t really need to know something doesn’t usually sit very well with us. King Solomon’s point regarding kings resonates. Kings search out what is going on in their kingdom. If kings, presidents, managers, leaders of any sort don’t know what’s going on under their purview, they aren’t doing their job very well. Yet, somehow God conceals things and it’s glorious? How does he get a pass? What makes him so special? I mean, sure, he’s God, but really, why don’t we get to know what he’s up to?

We aren’t very organized in how we think about the things going on around us. On one hand, we want to know everything. We want complete transparency. On the other hand, if we’re really pushed, we can usually admit that sometimes things go on that we shouldn’t know about. That doesn’t stop us from wanting to anyway. It’s one of the things we try and teach Paul about, you don’t really need to know everything. Mom and dad have things handled and you should trust them to take care of you.

King Solomon’s point here at the beginning of the reading might feel a little disconnected from where he goes after this, but there is a common theme. Just like we want to know everything going on around us, whether we need to or not, whether it’s helpful or not, we also like being first in line. We like being at the head of the class. We like being up front and to have our skill, our achievements, our all around goodness on display, recognized by everyone around us. If we could take the king’s spot, we’d do that.

We want to know. We want to be on display. We want to be in control of it all. We want all of the good and none of the bad. As any leader knows, it doesn’t always go well. Things don’t always work the way you intend. You can plan. You can prepare. You can train, but disasters will happen that you don’t expect, that you didn’t plan for, that you were trained to handle. The responsibility for that failure will fall squarely on you. You are the leader. It was your job to keep things working, to prepare your people, and you didn’t. The power, the recognition, those are the things we want. The responsibility? Not so much.

Being in charge, being in control, having the power to do what we want with our lives. We don’t want someone to tell us to move up to a higher place. We want to already be there. We want everyone to see it and acknowledge our greatness.

Solomon offers this collected wisdom to those who will listen. It’s wisdom he himself has had to wrestle with. When he was a young boy, he was offered anything he could think of. Instead of drawing attention to his greatness, instead of using it as a way to let the world know how mighty and powerful he was, he asked for wisdom. He asked for wisdom. He asked for wisdom because he knew he wasn’t wise. He wasn’t strong and powerful. He didn’t deserve the position he’d been given, but this is where God had called him to be. A simple boy who, for all that he lived in his father’s house and learned what it means to be a king from him. Still, he saw how unqualified he was for the job he had been called to.

King Solomon saw how God acts. Those who believe themselves great will see what greatness really means when God displays his own greatest for them. Those who seek to be in control, who want to know everything and be in charge of everything will see just how little control they have over their lives and everything else.

Solomon didn’t have those things. So, instead of acting like he did, he asked God to help him and God gave him everything he needed and more.

Why do we want to know everything? Why do we want control over everything? Why do we want all of the recognition and praise? We don’t want to be thought of as incapable or under qualified. We don’t want to think of ourselves that way either. We don’t want to be thought of as less, especially when there’s a risk someone around us might be thought of as greater than we are.

Our pride drives to constantly rate ourselves higher than we deserve. It makes us believe we are more capable, more important, more noble, more wise, than we actually are. It works for us just fine until we honestly compare ourselves with God and we see how little we’re able to do.

Whether we think of God as our Father or Jesus as the Good Shepherd, certain elements remain constant. He knows what’s best for us. He is able to care for us. He is able to protect us and keep us safe. He alone can save us. He alone can do much of anything in this world. The best we can contribute is to break things, tear them down, muddy them, poison them, or outright kill them. Without him to keep things under control, we would destroy everything good there is in the world.

It is the glory of God to conceal things. It isn’t because God wants to torment us or punish us that he hides things from us. It is and always has been an issue of trust. Can we trust God to know what’s best for us? Can we trust God to handle all of the big things and focus our efforts on those things he has given us to manage? Can we trust God to care for us, even love us if we aren’t the most glorious, most capable, most talented person around? Can we trust God to love us even if we sit at the very bottom, if we end up in his court with dirty rags instead of fine silk brocades because dirty rags are all we have?

God does make a habit of knocking the proud off their pedestal, but it isn’t because he just likes showing off. He wants people to understand where they really stand so they don’t come to the conclusion they can sort everything out just fine on their own, because they can’t, and if they try, they’ll end up destroying their own lives.

No one fully understood God’s plan for salvation. Even when Jesus was here on earth, his disciples didn’t comprehend what was necessary to redeem the world and pay for the sins we commit. Even still, God knew what he was doing and his plan accomplished all he set out to do.

God has no illusions about the kind of people we are. He knows we don’t have fine clothing to wear in his presence. He knows we don’t have great accomplishments to show off. He knows we don’t have anything at all, but where we are lacking, he makes up the difference. He gives us the glory we always strive for but can never achieve.

It has always been a matter of trust. Just as children learn to trust their parents and sheep trust their shepherd, we trust God because he isn’t just a king, he is our Father who takes care of us because he loves us and because he is capable of doing all of the things we cannot. He is a king, but he loves us even though we don’t deserve to be there in his presence. He makes us worthy, calling us up from the depths and clothing us in the bright robes of his righteousness.

Trust in God, even when you don’t understand all of the details of his plan, know that he knows how to take care of you. He saw you dirty and poor, incapable of doing anything for yourself and he saved you. He gave what was most precious to him, the life of his own son, to clean you up and make you worthy to be the one place you could never make it to on your own, with him.