Sunday, July 18, 2010

Where are the David's?

I find it pretty difficult to read the books of the Bible that describe the life and works of all the kings. It's gory, filled with violence and fighting, and repetitive. I often wonder why God felt it so important to put some of those things into the Bible.

Today, however, my thoughts have been captured and held tenaciously. Every king is compared to David. Phrases like "he wasn't at all like his ancestor David" and "he did not walk in the ways of his father David." This is not the first time I've seen this and commented on it. However, today a new thought caught my pondering mind.

I really hate to be compared to others. Comparisons make me crazy. You get a new job and you hear, "That's not the way we did it when the other person was in charge." "The other person was so much more easy going than you are." Or let's take it one step further. Getting compared to a brother or a sister. Now that's down right dangerous territory.

Now I'm wanting to know, what's so very special about David. I've heard a lot of messages about David, so I think on this for a while. Here's what I see.
  • David was not afraid to spend time alone and in the presence of God.
  • David was passionate about defending God.
  • David was unafraid to fight people bigger than he was because he was confident in who he was fighting for.
  • David ministered to people in need. He took bread to his family and he played the harp when the king was troubled.
  • David honored the anointed authority God placed over him, even when that person of authority was in the wrong.
  • David led people who were discouraged.
  • David recognized the service and sacrifice of others and its value. He would not even drink the water his men had risked so much to bring to him.
  • David understood the power of praise. He was able to encourage himself in the Lord.
  • David did not care who was around when he danced unto the Lord.
  • David received counsel from the prophets and responded appropriately. Repented when he had done wrong and moved according to the word when given divine direction.
  • David suffered great loss due to his sins, accepted the judgment of God and renewed his relationship with God.
  • David had family problems and took them to God.
  • David's accepted the partial fulfillment of his dream without hating God. His dream was realized through his son Solomon.
This list is not by any means comprehensive. However, these are the things that readily come to mind when thinking through the life of David. It's pretty impressive to review. What a man! What a resume! From shepherd boy to king he is an incredible example. No wonder the succeeding kings were compared to David. The bar was set pretty high.

What I remember most that pulls at my memory and I have not listed is that David was known as a man after God's own heart. This phrase was said about David when he was a young man. He was still a shepherd boy. He had not yet killed Goliath nor had he played his harp in the palace. He had not yet led the armies of Israel and the band of discouraged men. What he had was a real relationship with God. He knew God.

It was not who David knew, his network of great people, that made him the top candidate for king. It was not David's charisma or pedigree that made him God's choice. It was his relationship with God that set him apart from everyone else. Succeeding kings did not build the type of relationship David had with God and God was displeased with them. Some managed to have a relationship with God, but they "did not tear down the high places". Their leadership was weak in that they let people do what pleased them.

Now I feel challenged. Where are the David's? I look within and I wonder if I were the one they were writing about today in the book of Kings, what would that last sentence look like? Would it read, "and she did not walk in the ways of her father David?"

I feel lucky today. I am not at the end of my journey in this life. I have a chance to work on my relationship with God. So, I ask myself, and you my friend, these questions:
  • When was the last time you spent more than a few minutes in the Word of God meditating on what you've read and applying it to your life?
  • When was the last time you didn't care who was around you and you worshiped God with abandon?
  • When was the last time you put your own self-will on the back burner and did what God told you to do?
  • When was the last time you sang praises to God and basked in the glow of fellowship between you and God alone?
  • When was the last time you enjoyed time with God so much that you never wanted to leave that place?
I sincerely pray that these thoughts will encourage you to grow in your relationship with God. As for me, I want more of God in my life. I want to know God! I want to be a woman after God's own heart! I've got some relationship building to do.

WYSIWYG (wi-zee-wig)

I love this acronym; WYSIWYG. It simply means what you see is what you get. I'm sure you've either used the phrase or heard the phrase used at one time or another. It's actually used in the information systems world by hackers or developers and it refers to software which they are unable to modify for specific purposes not designed for in the original software. Basically, you can't modify the software for anything other than what it was created for.

When I've used this phrase in the past, it was an attempt to communicate that I am transparent or natural. I'm not hiding behind a mask or fake. I'm not pretending to be something or have a hidden agenda. I've even said it feeling a bit self-righteous as I say it. It's got a little attitude.

The truth of the matter, however, is that we all have a "presentation" model of ourselves. When I was growing up you never went to church unless you were in the best clothes you owned. I had school shoes, church shoes, and play shoes. I heard phrases like "we don't act like that in public". Then there were all kinds of rules about when you go on a date, when you look for a job, and when you stay over at so-and-so's house don't talk about.......you fill in the blank.

Now don't get me wrong, I think there are protocols and expectations that we conduct ourselves differently in various situations. There are even occasions and places we go where we should be wearing the correct attire. Things such as weddings, funerals, church and work. There are things that you should not talk about or say depending on where you are and who you are with.

What I am talking about here is the core person you are. If you try to be one way at work to fit in there, then you try to be another way at church and then be someone else at home, you're going to drive yourself crazy! You cannot be happy and fulfilled.

James 3:10-18 from the Message version of the Bible puts it like this:

10-12My friends, this can't go on. A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?

13-16Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom—it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.

17-18Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

If you are true blue, authentic and consistent, you won't have to respond to anyone in any place "What you see is what you get!" No you won't. Because others will recognize that about you. It's part of the package. Your daily conduct will demonstrate your authenticity.

Sure you'll conduct yourself differently depending on whose company you are in or how comfortable you are in a situation. But you will never change your core values. You won't cuss when you're at work and not cuss when you are home. You won't treat men at work like dirt bags and then treat your husband nicely at home. Oh, you may manage for a while, but you'll blow up eventually.

WYSIWYG should be more than just a phrase you toss over your shoulder in an attitude of "in your face bubba". WYSIWYG should be a way of living, as the Scriptures above describe, "a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others." If you're having trouble with your life perhaps you need to stop trying to change who you are.

Stop trying to hack or modify the programming.

Be the unique and special person God created you to be!