But after Jehoiada's death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded the king to listen to their advice.  They decided to abandon the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead.      2 Chronicles 24:17-18

            He started well.  At seven years-old Joash became king of Judah after years of national turmoil.  His godly uncle and temple priest Jehoiada led a political coup that brought the young king to the throne as its rightful heir.  A wave of spiritual renewal followed and Joash and the nation were carried along in its wake.

            At the age of sixteen and exerting leadership of his own, Joash spearheads an effort to restore and renovate the Temple of God which had been neglected for many years.  All systems appear to be "go" for an era of blessing under the God-honoring rule of the young king.

            Then Jehoiada died.  Almost immediately Joash becomes a ship without a rudder.  He turns the nation back to pagan worship out of political expedience.  In fact, when Jehoiada's son Zechariah challenges the king's actions, Joash has him killed.  It becomes a sad statement of the corrupt nature of the king's heart that he would betray the memory of the man to whom he owed so much by ordering the murder of his son.

            No longer committed to spiritual excellence, Joash follows the easy course of personal expedience.  What happened to this promising leader and his life?  It is the same thing that happens far too often to young people brought up in a faith environment.  That faith is never personally embraced, only borrowed.

            The dynamics of borrowed faith are clearly visible in the life of Joash.  He had accepted and responded to the guidance and wisdom of Jehoiada, but never came to know and believe the Word of God for himself.  He loved and trusted his uncle, but never established his own relationship with the God Jehoiada followed.  The spiritual and personal inertia for his life came from Jehoiada and he never learned to seek and respond to God for himself.  It was borrowed faith and the results were tragic.

            Failing to see the cause and effect connection between obedience to God and national blessing, Joash abandoned the ways of God and followed the failed path of past kings of Israel.  Blinded by expedience, he refused to see the hideous nature of his actions.  Shortsighted in his vision, he ignored the long-term consequences of his decisions.  As Zechariah died he issued an ominous warning to the king with the words, "May the Lord see what they are doing and hold them accountable."  Accountable he became. Joash paid with his throne and his life at the hands of his own officials.  (Read the gripping story of the rise and fall of Joash in 2 Chronicles chapters 23 and 24.)

            This is the sad but often repeated story of borrowed faith.  It is a story of faith easily cast aside when convenience calls or peers pressure because it was never embraced personally, purposefully, passionately.

            Don't let the story of Joash become yours.  Know, learn, and believe the scriptures for yourself.  Cultivate a relationship with God that is personal to you.  Become moved and motivated spiritually by God's direct influence in your own life.  Then write a story with a happy ending through your own deeply embraced faith in the God Jehoiada served, but Joash missed.