title crossroads
Contents
Bible: 2 Chronicles 10:1-15
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On August 14th, in the JoongAng Daily, Professor Jihyang Park of the Department of Western History at Seoul National University wrote a column. The title of the article is ‘Different Roads Between Korea and India After August 15’. On August 15, 1947, India became independent from Britain and established a government, and on August 15, 1948, the following year, India became independent from Japan and established a government.
Professor Park Ji-hyang asserts that India was in better shape until it was first independent and each government was established. The size of the land was incomparable to ours, and the population was much larger. India also had a world-famous leader at the time, Mahatma Gandhi, and his successor, Jawaharlal Nehru. Of course, Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu on January 30, the year after India became independent.
It is said that the leaders of India at that time chose to rule India in a neutral way, neither liberal nor socialist. The economic system modeled on the Soviet style and led India to a controlled economy. But in our country, President Syngman Rhee leads the country. If you compare the awareness of Mahatma Gandhi and President Syngman Rhee at the time, Gandhi was a world leader that cannot be compared, and President Syngman Rhee is a president that even the younger generation cannot remember well. However, President Syngman Rhee said that while leading me, there were only two important things. The first is the protection of sovereignty. Because this country has been freed from colonization, colonial history should never be repeated in this country again. Therefore, it is said that the protection of sovereignty was the first priority in the ideology of government, and the second economic system led to a free economic system. It is said that in 1950, India and Korea had the same per capita income as the two countries that led the country in such different ways. But today, in 2010, our per capita income is 15 times higher than India's.
Everyone says that India has a splendid culture. By comparison, we don't have that many cultures. But in 2010, there is a huge difference. As someone said, the country that achieved the miracle of the 20th century is the Republic of Korea. In this way, each other's choices made at the starting point made a huge difference in results.
There are times in our lives when we make choices, and there are many things that our choices determine our future.
The Bible we read today is in the same vein. After Solomon's death, Solomon's son Rehoboam became the fourth king of Israel. When they heard the news that Rehoboam had become king, many people came to the king. 'Your father has put upon us too many and heavy yokes. They paid a lot of taxes and had to do heavy labor. So, the new king, King Rehoboam, lower our taxes and give us time to work in our land. Then we will serve the king well.’ Rehoboam heard that, and asked, ‘Give me time to think for three days.’
And the first people Rehoboam sought advice from were the ministers he had worked with during the days of King Solomon. As they grew older, they said, “The king is good to the people. And please the people. And if you listen to the people, they will serve you as slaves to the king for the rest of their lives.” And he went to visit the friends he grew up with. They said, “O king, isn’t your little finger wider than the loins of your father Solomon? Do not listen to the people, and make more yokes, and when you do not obey King Solomon, you will rule with whips, but I will rule with scorpions.”
King Rehoboam accepted the words of his young friends, and three days later, to the representatives of the people who came to him, he quoted the words of his friends as they were. The Israelites, who were angry with this, will establish Northern Israel. As a result, Israel in the north and Judah in the south split into two countries. From then on, the unfortunate history began and until the independence of Israel on May 14, 1948, Israel lived in pity as a nationless people for a whopping 2500 years.
There are moments in our lives when we must make decisions. What we decide then determines our future. This is the lesson that history clearly shows us.
But one more thing to consider is why King Rehoboam did not accept the teachings of the adults. Rehoboam already had in his heart the intention to accept the stories of his friends rather than the stories of the elders. It means that he already had a heart to rule over the people rather than please them. Because we listened to our opinions with our own self-righteousness and prejudice, we listen more closely to opinions that fit our own thoughts and reflect those opinions as a matter of course. If you have such selfishness and prejudice, the gospel cannot enter. If there is prejudice and self-will, the truth will never come to me. That is because prejudice and self-righteousness are directly linked to a proud heart. Because of his arrogant heart, King Rehoboam had no choice but to sound insulting to the elders. As a result, Rehoboam became the worst king among Israel's kings, who began the unfortunate history of Israel.
Dear brothers and sisters, today, the first Sunday in September is a fork in the road. At this time, let us cast aside selfishness and prejudice, let go of pride, accept the gospel of our Lord with an open mind, and follow the path, truth, and life of Jesus, the blessed path, the prosperous path, and the path of blessing. Poetry bless you all in the name of the Lord.
2010-09-10 21:22:49