Taking Someone's Position (2)

If you know me long enough, you'll know that I don't dream big myself. I don't have dreams of setting up my own epic business empire or such. My life goals are much more niche!

That said, I am always very keen to see the people around me dream big, set big goals for their lives, and go out boldly to pursue them. Now because life has bashed my head against the wall quite a few times, and because I am a keen student of the mistakes of others, I have some sense of what is necessary to make things happen. Not everyone else has that same sense...

A boss recently talked with me about one of her new hires, an employee who wanted to leave her small company after less than two weeks on probation. Reasons he gave include 'This company is too small, I cant see any progression. I dont want to be photostating stuff. i want to lead'.

(No, I did not miss the typos in the texts, I left them there on purpose.)

He told her he wants to do business. He wants a lot from his life. And when that is given as a reason for leaving her employment, it's clear he thinks he is not going to get anywhere working at her company.

Good thing David did not think that way.

When we last saw David, it was in 1 Sam 16:12 when he was anointed king by the prophet Samuel. And very soon in the Scripture account, David had his big break, his first open door, so to speak. He was appointed official court musician out of nowhere, it seems. And it was one huge step towards his destiny, yes?

1 Samuel 16:19-22 (NIV) - Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.”

But what if David disdained the opportunity? If he was anything like the young man mentioned earlier, David could have said that he was meant to be king, and wanted to be groomed as such, and not have to waste his time as merely an entertainer or just a musician.

Thank God David was too humble for that!

1 Samuel 17:17-18 (NIV) - Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them.

By the next chapter, we discover that even the court appointment was not a full-time gig. He had to go home from court at times, and when he was at home he went back to his menial duties. Over here, we see that David had to do GrabFood delivery!

David had to cycle being available to minister unto Saul and going back to his original shepherd job. He could have let the lowliness of the situation overcome him with resentment. He could have even pulled rank on his family, so to speak, by reminding them he was anointed to be king; he ought not to be thrown the work the rest of his brothers refused. David did not do that.

1 Samuel 17:28 (NIV) - When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”

The passage implies:

1) his brothers did not take seriously the call upon David's life;

2) David himself was unassuming, doing whatever he was ordered to do by his father. His promotion in the eyes of God did not fill him with pride; he remained in submission to the authority of Jesse, his father.

Important

Even David's first big break, being appointed Saul's personal musician, did not come out of nowhere either. Consider this passage.

1 Samuel 16:18 (NIV) - One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him.”

We can argue about the spiritual and practical significance of the criteria David fulfilled to be chosen for that job. But this is indisputable: David qualified for his first official appointment through all the work he put in during his shepherding days. We will see from the rest of his journey to the throne that after his first appointment, he still had other tests to pass along the way. Some of those tests were not as straightforward to overcome!

The point of what I am saying is this: a lowly position is where you get to build up faithfulness. That is where you get to practice and try out skills AWAY from the harsh glare of public scrutiny. That is where humility and patience are trained and cultivated. Why? Because if you make any mistakes in humility and patience at that point, matters are less likely to blow up in your face than if you make the same mistakes when you are in a higher position.

Conclusion

I am not saying that you should always choose the lower position if doors open at the same time and you get to decide. What I am saying is that if you find yourself stuck in a lowly position, or if the opportunity you have is the only one that is available to you, then don't despise it. Don't look down on doing cleaning, low grade paperwork or even just zapping enough copies of lesson materials for children's classes.  

If all you have to do is run errands, then run errands. Use the opportunity to pray and look out around you for things to notice and people to observe (and maybe help). In the course of the mundane life, you do not know when your burning bush experience will come, when God uses something a little out of the ordinary to catch your attention and speak to you. You do not know when the mundane tasks will turn out to be training you in skills you need in the future, or if the smaller challenges you have to overcome now in private are preparing you to overcome your Goliath in public.  

Luke 16:10 (ESV) - One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

This one single passage is probably responsible for almost everything of worth I have achieved in my life so far. May it encourage you in your own journey also. There is still more to share about David's journey to being fit to become king in Saul's place. See you at the next post!

Taking Someone's Position (1)

Have you ever had to take someone else's position before? 

Ever had to be the usurper, so to speak?

I hesitate to post on this, because there are people out there who will take this teaching and use it to justify and rationalize plotting against their pastor, bosses and other leaders. But I soon figured out those people don't need excuses from me, they'd proceed no matter what I say. So for the benefit of everyone else, people who'd actually NEED this teaching, I'll proceed. 

Romans 13:1 (ESV) - Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 

So every person in authority has been appointed by God. Therefore, to plot against them, to seek to remove them from power, or even worse, to take their place, is an extremely serious matter. 

1 Samuel 15:28 (ESV) - And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 

We have to be very clear - any removal of anyone from a position of authority has to start from God. If he did not decree it, it will not happen. And you risk very serious consequences, in both the material and in the spiritual realms, should you try. 

1 Samuel 16:12 (ESV) - And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 

Likewise for who is to be that leader's replacement. That is a decision to be made by God, not by us. It is not for you to desire and want to be the leader; it is for God to appoint you for it. And even if God himself has appointed you for it, there are still tests and trials ahead, tests and trials that you might very well fail and thus disqualify yourself.

What makes the whole thing very tricky is the fact that God looks at all these matters very differently from how we look at them.

If you were to judge the reigns of Saul versus David, Saul did very little wrong compared to David. He lost his kingdom to David for the sin of sparing the Amalekites. Meanwhile, David messed up horribly compared to Saul. And yet God decreed the throne of David a throne that would endure forever. 

What gives?

This should fill us with humility and the desire to seek the Lord, to walk close with him every step of the way, and strive to obey him in every single area we can. Confidence in the flesh is VERY dangerous, and even more so should you be called by God to leadership in any way, shape or form. We are woefully inadequate to judge if God has withdrawn his support for any leader he has appointed. Does it happen? Yes, of course. But when? It is well nigh impossible for us to judge thus in the flesh. And even more so if you believe you are the one chosen by God to replace him or her. 

Conclusion:

The entire Saul-David dynamic is very interesting to study. It raises questions for which there are sometimes no certain answers. I personally do not know any believer who had to walk David's path to take over someone else's kingdom, but I have read enough horror stories of what happens when people thought they were the David to replace a Saul, and they were wrong. The damage is extensive and far-reaching. 

This thought should spur is to humility and walking closely with the Lord, true? 

See you at the next post. Be blessed!