Humility

June 4, 2019

“Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”” —II Samuel 24:1 NKJV

“Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.”

—I Chronicles 21:1 NKJV

Today’s Bible reading included these two Scriptures, the first of which is quite puzzling. The context is simple: King David ordered a census of the people to ascertain their military strength. Joab, his military commander, told him it was a sin to do so, presumably because they were to rely on the Lord rather than mere military might. David overruled, ordered the census, and realized only too late the mistake he had made. The puzzling part is the 2 Samuel text, indicating that it was God himself who prompted David to commit this sin. 

The Old Testament is often funny that way. After all, the texts are more than 2500 years old, and from a culture quite different than ours. What was perfectly sensible to people back then seems odd and inexplicable to us today. I’m sure that many of our customs and understandings of how life is would have been quite foreign to them. There is however, one lesson that stands out to me from these Scriptures.

Sometimes it’s difficult to know whether the ideas we have are from God, Satan, or self. I’ve watched people make decisions they were sure were straight from the heart of God, but which proved just as disastrous as was David’s census. What they thought was confidence was in fact, arrogance. Most of us could do with a bit more humility. I know I could. I can think of numerous times I was sure I had a hotline to God; my reasoning was sound, my motives were as pure as I could make them; I truly wanted God’s best for me and my congregation, but I was wrong. It behooves us to not be too cocky or self-assured about our ideas. 

Mother Teresa’s vision for the Little Sisters of the Poor had taken root in her heart many years before it became a reality. Her superiors repeatedly refused her pleas to allow her to begin the work among the poor of India. Where I would have rebelled, or at least grumbled (because I knew better than those in authority over me), she simply obeyed and prayed, and became a model for holiness and mercy to the entire world. 

I think pastors especially are susceptible to overreach, and when we do, like David, it’s our people who pay the price. I’m thankful today for this puzzling Scripture, and for the lesson in humility it provides. May I be wise and humble enough to receive it.