Today's readings are 2 Samuel 1.1-27 and 1 Corinthians 7.25-40.
2 Samuel 1.27 (ESV) "How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"
We would have expected that David would be pleased. Saul, the king whom David is to replace, the king who frequently tried to kill David, has died at the hands of his enemies. David is now free to pursue kingship. He has no rival for power. It is his realm. Jonathan, the ranking survivor of the house of Saul, is loyal to David. So why is David mourning?
It's important to realize that, no matter what the problems were between David and Saul, Saul had been anointed by God to serve as king throughout the days of his life. David would rightly mourn Saul's apparent unbelief, his violence, his falling from reason. In short, David would rightly have preferred Saul's repentance and an even longer reign. A faithful king is a delight to his subjects. It is far better to see the king restored to faithful service before God than it is to see the king deposed or killed.
How do we act when Christian leaders with whom we disagree are seen to fall? Do we rejoice? Do we gloat? Do we rub our hands in delight because they got what they deserved? Who is watching us, waiting for us to fall? What would be better? Should we not pray for the repentance of those leaders who are unfaithful? Should we not mourn over their failures rather than delight in their failures? What is gained when a leader of the Church falls, deceiving many, harming many, putting many in bondage to false teaching, leading people to cynicism and disillusionment? Nothing is gained, rather, there is great damage done.
May the Lord protect His servants, bringing them to repentance, teaching them to be faithful leaders.
2 Samuel 1.27 (ESV) "How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"
We would have expected that David would be pleased. Saul, the king whom David is to replace, the king who frequently tried to kill David, has died at the hands of his enemies. David is now free to pursue kingship. He has no rival for power. It is his realm. Jonathan, the ranking survivor of the house of Saul, is loyal to David. So why is David mourning?
It's important to realize that, no matter what the problems were between David and Saul, Saul had been anointed by God to serve as king throughout the days of his life. David would rightly mourn Saul's apparent unbelief, his violence, his falling from reason. In short, David would rightly have preferred Saul's repentance and an even longer reign. A faithful king is a delight to his subjects. It is far better to see the king restored to faithful service before God than it is to see the king deposed or killed.
How do we act when Christian leaders with whom we disagree are seen to fall? Do we rejoice? Do we gloat? Do we rub our hands in delight because they got what they deserved? Who is watching us, waiting for us to fall? What would be better? Should we not pray for the repentance of those leaders who are unfaithful? Should we not mourn over their failures rather than delight in their failures? What is gained when a leader of the Church falls, deceiving many, harming many, putting many in bondage to false teaching, leading people to cynicism and disillusionment? Nothing is gained, rather, there is great damage done.
May the Lord protect His servants, bringing them to repentance, teaching them to be faithful leaders.
--
Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment