How much are you worth? You can do a quick search online and see how much any celebrity, business owner, or social media influencer is worth. Depending on their notoriety, they may slap their name as a brand on any item in today’s market. Suddenly, a simple item becomes extremely valuable because it now has status.

This was the problem for me in childhood. I came down with the status symbol sickness when I had a steady job in high school. Most of my clothes were nice, name-brand clothes. The image was important to me because it was what people noticed about me. It didn’t matter that other clothes could have the same quality as my name-brand clothes and be cheaper. The status symbol was important to be accepted.

This status symbol sickness affects every person and group. Whether it is cars, timeshares, or sneakers, you can easily succumb to this sickness. Even nations can experience this epidemic. The nation of Israel did.

1 Samuel 8:19–20
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

They saw all the other nations sporting a fashionable and powerful king, but the Israelites didn’t have any such person they could parade. In fact, the last time the item representing the presence of their King was paraded anywhere, no one wanted it! The ark of the covenant had been paraded through Philistia and they sent it back to Israel. The town of Beth-shemesh celebrated the arrival of the ark only to send it to the next town because it was too risky.

When you read Israel’s demand for a king, you are reading the cry for something dignified and domesticated. They will accuse Samuel’s son of taking bribes. This most likely was true, but their solution was to throw out the system of governance they had since Moses. God cannot be domesticated. You can’t expect to march him around the parade grounds. If you can’t “let God out” to “work magic” and “stable” Him when He is in your way, then you certainly can’t appear dignified to the other nations.

The cry of the western church is to have a god like the other people have. The God of the Bible expects righteous living, but it looks like other people get along fine otherwise. The God of the Bible expects us to prefer others above ourselves, but other people are getting further ahead of us and we feel left behind. Whatever the scenario, the symptoms are the same. The sickness of status symbols plagues each and every one of us.

Never forget the opening to Hannah’s prayer.

1 Samuel 2:2
There is none holy as the Lord: For there is none beside thee: Neither is there any rock like our God.

This is the prescription you need to fight the sickness of status symbols.