Power, Pleasure, and Profit

Three Things Every King Trips Over

This morning, during my daily Bible reading, I came across an incredible passage in Deuteronomy 17. It was so eye-opening and profound that I couldn’t wait to share it with you. This passage is crystal clear and deeply relevant for leaders today.

Here it is:

Deuteronomy 17:14-17 (NLT) - “You are about to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.’ 15 If this happens, be sure to select as king the man the Lord your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he may not be a foreigner.

16 “The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ 17 The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.

Wow! Could it be any clearer? I want to quickly highlight four key points from this passage that every leader needs to pay close attention to.

We Were Never Intended to Have Kings

God knew the hearts of the Israelites even before they set foot in the Promised Land. He knew that when they arrived in their new land, they would be tempted to appoint “manmade” kings. He warned them, “You may think, ‘We should select a king…’"

Later, when the time came for the people to appoint their first king, 1 Samuel 8:6-7 (NIV) tells us, "But when they said, 'Give us a king to lead us,' this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him, 'Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.'"

It was never God’s design for Israel to have a king other than Himself, and it’s not His design for the church to have one other than Jesus.

Yet, there’s something within us that craves a human king, someone to lead and represent us. This was evident when the elders came to Samuel in 1 Samuel 8:5 and said, “Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations.”

We tend to put leaders on pedestals, then we are devastated when they fall off of the very pedestals we put them on.

I think we would all agree, we need only one king, the King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords. To every leader out there reading this, don’t be tempted to take the throne. Resist the temptation to put on the crown, even when people try to place it on your head. Our gifts, talents, and crowns belong at the feet of the only true King. When others start to treat you as if you’re their king, remember that the throne is already occupied by Jesus.

If by chance you decide to ignore this advice and you become king, one of these 3 things will take you out:

1. Power

Deuteronomy 17:16 (NLT) - The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself…

In the ancient Middle East, horses were a symbol of military strength, particularly in warfare. By forbidding the king from amassing horses for himself, God was steering him away from becoming self-reliant and accumulating power independently. The king was not to build an army that might lead him to depend on his own strength rather than on God’s.

In the early days of leadership, we are often deeply reliant on God and those around us because of our lack of resources. This humility keeps us grounded and dependent on the Lord. However, as our influence grows, so does the temptation to rely on our own power. But God is not interested in how powerful we can become; He desires our dependence on His power.

By restricting the accumulation of horses, God was reminding Israel that their security and success should be rooted in faithfulness to Him, not in military might. It was a call to trust in God’s protection and provision rather than seeking to secure their future through earthly means.

In leadership, power can be the most intoxicating of elixirs, drawing us away from our true source of strength—God.

2. Pleasure

Deuteronomy 17:17 (NLT) - The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord.

There it is, plain as day—a warning that echoes through the ages, addressing a threat that has brought down countless leaders: lust of the flesh. This is no small issue. We’ve all witnessed the devastating effects of leaders falling into sexual immorality, and the Scripture clearly identifies the consequence—a heart that turns away from the Lord.

The danger of unchecked pleasure, especially in the form of sexual sin, lies not just in the act itself but in its power to divert our devotion. What begins as indulgence can quickly become idolatry. As Solomon, the son of David, would later illustrate, the pursuit of many wives led him to stray from God, ultimately worshiping the idols of his foreign wives (1 Kings 11:1-4). His heart, once wholly devoted to the Lord, was led astray by the very pleasures he was warned against.

Jesus reinforced this principle when He said in Matthew 5:28 (NIV), “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” The issue isn’t just the physical act, but the heart’s inclination.

The apostle Paul also warned Timothy about the dangers of pleasure in leadership. In 2 Timothy 2:22 (NIV), Paul advises, “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” This instruction isn’t merely about avoiding sin but actively pursuing what is right—because when we pursue godly virtues, we protect our hearts from turning away.

The key takeaway is this: a leader’s strength is found in a heart fully devoted to God. When our hearts are divided by the pursuit of pleasure, we risk losing our connection to the source of all true power and guidance. Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it (Proverbs 4:23).

3. Profit

Deuteronomy 17:17b (NLT) - And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.

Money! We’ve all seen this one play out, haven’t we? If it’s not power, and if it’s not pleasure, profit lurks in the shadows, ready to take any leader down.

This command targets a critical threat to pastoral leadership in particular: the pursuit of personal wealth. The danger isn’t in the specific amount accumulated, but in how easily the love of money can lead us away from God’s mission, replacing reliance on God with trust in financial security. Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not advocating for pastors to live in poverty. I invest in real estate personally and I am pursuing a biblical desire to build a nest egg to pass down to my children’s children (Proverbs 13:22). Like power and pleasure, with profits, the enemy desires to capture the only real thing that matters, your heart.

While business leaders can rightfully accumulate wealth, they too must recognize that wealth is an intoxicating elixir, capable of distorting judgment. Paul’s warning in 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV)—“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”—is crucial here.

Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:24 (NIV) further caution us: “You cannot serve both God and money.” When wealth becomes the primary focus, it diverts our attention away from God’s calling.

How Do We Avoid These Traps?

I’m glad you asked. This Bible verse doesn’t just warn us; it also provides a clear strategy for avoiding the pitfalls. Take a look at this:

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 (NLT) - “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.”

It’s clear that the Lord understood a one-time pep talk wasn’t enough to keep the king on track. There are no leaders who set out to trip over power, pleasure, or profit. it is always a slow drift away from the core of our original why. How do we keep from drifting? By checking our anchor daily. It required a disciplined, consistent practice of immersing ourselves in God’s Word to prevent corruption. Leaders, we need to adopt the same approach—a daily reminder that we are not called to power, pleasure, or profit, but to people. Our mission is about serving others, not elevating ourselves.

No King Needed

The ultimate answer to this conundrum is to remember that it was never God’s intention for there to be a king in the first place. The Israelites didn’t listen to this instruction, and unfortunately, in many ways, neither has the church.

Every king of Israel stumbled over one of these three traps, and sadly, any pastor who crowns himself a king is destined to fall the same way.

Saul was prideful and became corrupted by power. David and Solomon both succumbed to the temptations of pleasure and profit. Solomon, for instance, had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3) and amassed 12,000 horses along with 1,400 chariots (1 Kings 10:26), directly violating God’s command. David also faced his own challenges with pleasure, having at least eight wives named in the Bible, along with others who remain unnamed. Additionally, David accumulated vast amounts of wealth—so much that it is estimated to be worth billions, perhaps even trillions, in today’s economy. While he used much of it for good, including preparing for the building of the Temple, the sheer volume of his riches highlights the seductive power of wealth.

Every Israelite king that followed stumbled over the same three challenges: power, pleasure, and profit. And every leader who has tripped up since then has fallen over one of these same pitfalls. The Bible continues to clearly warn us about these dangers, thousands of years later.

The answer is clear: never aspire to be a king. The moment we crown ourselves, we step onto the same treacherous path as those before us, ready to trip over power, pleasure, and profit.