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Recently I heard a radio commercial by a well-known travel service. In the ad a neighbor asks the man in the family if he is moving when he sees him get in a large flatbed truck with a tow truck on the back. No, the man replies, they are just going on a vacation and his wife is afraid of breakdowns so they are bringing their own tow truck along. Then the neighbor asks whom the uniformed man is standing near the truck. The man says that he is Bill, the security guard, who they are taking along to guard their money. Then the neighbor starts to tell them about the travel service and how both of these needs will be met just by joining it. They will have a toll-free number to call for help if they have a breakdown, free travelers’ checks and they can even get free maps. With that the man gets all excited and yells to his wife that she can let the bloodhounds go. Of course, this is a humorous exaggeration of the services provided by this travel service, but I thought of it when I read the way that Jehoash reacted to Elisha’s impending death in our text for today. Jehoash is terribly upset when he learns that Elisha is dying. But he is not upset because he is losing a good friend. He is upset because he realizes that soon he will not have his best protection against his enemies. The humorous part of it is that he has all the protection he needs. He has many horse-drawn chariots and great armies with powerful bows and arrows to defend him. If there was ever a king who could be confident in the power of his armies, it should have been Jehoash. But to the contrary, he is, as some might say, a “basket case.” What was going on with Jehoash? Of course, we don’t know all the details. But from the way Elisha handles this situation, we can speculate with a high degree of confidence as to what it was. Jehoash was a king who had to have the best of everything. He needed many horse-drawn chariots, so he got them. He needed huge armies armed with the latest and most powerful bows and arrows. What the king wanted, he made sure that he had. But most of all, Jehoash, in his friendship with Elisha, realized he had the “secret weapon” -- Elisha’s advice and mysterious, but unequaled power. Following Elisha’s guidance, he couldn’t lose. But what was he to do when he lost the cornerstone of his defense? Well, here he is -- the great king -- weeping uncontrollably. I suspect that many of us could see ourselves in Jehoash’s shoes. What do you do when you face the threat of losing that which you hold dearest? For many of us that would be the loss of a family member or close friend. Our loss would be a genuine one -- losing a person we love and who may have been a partner or helpmate for us. But to go beyond that, the question is: How much of your way of living could you lose without falling apart? So often our lives are guided by the principle that more is better. If it’s cheaper to buy 25 pounds of potatoes than five pounds, we buy the 25 if we have the room. If it’s convenient to have two cars in the family or even one for each driver if there are more than two drivers, we find a way to purchase them. Even in our spiritual lives today, we can avail ourselves of a half-dozen versions of the Bible to be able to understand it better. After a while, you see, we become dependent upon having more than one choice or more than one option for almost every aspect of our lives. You have all received slick fliers which come in almost every bill you receive these days. Temptations are all around us to purchase more and more -- perhaps even more than we can afford to buy. Our society today encourages us in such a lifestyle. We have many things from which to choose, whether we are outfitting our wardrobe, purchasing a new car, or even choosing a church to attend. And in many cases, the message is clear: If you can’t decide, take them all. Elisha had a last and, he hoped, lasting gift to leave with Jehoash. He wanted him to see his way out of his dire dilemma. You recall our text. He had Jehoash go and get his bow and some arrows. He had Jehoash take out one arrow. Elisha carefully helped the king line up his arrow and get it as close to perfect in his bow as he could. Then he opened the window and told the king to shoot the arrow. The arrow went straight to its target. Elisha said something to this effect, “See what just happened. You took your time to line up the arrow and aim it. It went straight to its mark. So it is with you. You are the Lord’s arrow. When you take time to listen to what God expects of you, you will accomplish his purposes and there is nothing that shall stop you. You will have victory over Syria and all your enemies. Now take the rest of your arrows out and destroy them.” The king went out and destroyed some, but he just could not bring himself to destroy all of them. He needed to hold back some for his own security. There is a clear and potent message for all of us who live by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. When God calls us to faith, he calls us to turn from the many competing voices of our lives, each of which say they have the answer or part of it and to give our lives to him as the only source of guidance and power for living. When God is God for us, he takes over and assures us that he will be with us so that we will overcome all the adversities that face us and enjoy the forgiveness, love, joy, and peace that he alone can give! That’s it! With God one is better than many. Sadly, Jehoash couldn’t learn soon enough and so his life and power were diminished. It is not too late for you and me. If we don’t need the items in these slick fliers, we can say “no” and throw them in the wastebasket. God calls us to take a look at our lives and see how we can learn to choose only what we need for a good life under his guidance. This is a way of focusing on what our real values are and giving more time to letting them enhance and enliven our days. When we trust in God above everything else, less is definitely better. Making good use of the fewer things we have which we really value leads to spiritual fulfillment and wholeness. Choose who you will serve. Let it be God and him alone! Amen.