Parasitic Faith

From the time that the seven-year-old king of Judah took the throne, his reign was tied to the high priest Jehoiada. 

Jehoiada’s wife hid Joash from Athaliah’s wrath when he was a baby. And when Joash was old enough to become king, Jehoiada led a revolt to overthrow Athaliah and restore the proper Davidic heir to the throne.

Joash was the king over God’s people because Jehoiada was a faithful priest. 

But Joash was not a faithful king. 

We get a hint of the downfall to come in the opening summary of his reign:

“And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” (2 Chronicles 24:2)

Not all the days of his life, but “all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” 

As long as Jehoiada was around the king, Joash looked like a zealous servant of God. He “decided to restore the house of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 24:4). He collected money for the temple work (2 Chronicles 24:10). And he offered “burnt offerings in the house of the LORD regularly …” (2 Chronicles 24:14). 

Joash served God all the days of Jehoiada.

But when Jehoiada’s days were finished, so was Joash’s faith. The king who looked like a zealous servant of God for the bulk of his reign turned toward false idols and murder when he no longer had a zealous high priest by his side (2 Chronicles 24:17-27). 

Joash had parasitic faith.

His devotion to God was dependent on proximity to another devoted believer. He served God only when he had a servant-hearted friend who prodded him on. His faith lived off the faith of another. But as soon as his life-source fell off the map, his faith fell, too. 

If you are a zealous servant of God only when other zealous servants of God are around you, you have parasitic faith. If most of your praying, Scripture-reading, and obeying is done when other believers are around, you have parasitic faith. If your faith fails when your spiritual heroes fall, you have parasitic faith.

Parasitic faith can only be destroyed in the secret place—in the solitary, door-shut prayer that the Father sees (Matthew 6:6). Practice your faith when you have no Jehoiada around, and your heart will learn that Christ alone is the life-source of your faith.