The other day, I had the awkward experience of having to listen to someone praise himself. I guess I shouldn't truly say that I "had to" listen to him do it because I was technically listening to an audiobook and I could have turned it off, but just the same, it was a little awkward to hear him sing his own praises. The book literally began with five straight minutes of the author listing everything he had ever succeeded at, and every credential he ever earned. To a degree, I understood that he was trying to establish his credibility before elaborating on his subject, but just the same, I wouldn't have minded if he did without the self-praise.
I guess to some degree, we're all tempted to praise ourselves. I have certainly done so, and I suspect I'm not alone. But hearing this author praise himself at length was a healthy reminder to me that extolling our own praises isn't flattering, isn't wise, and doesn't really convey the kind of heart the Lord wants us to demonstrate.
““Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.””
During the days of his service to Israel as a warrior and a king, David certainly could have praised himself, but thankfully, he made a pattern of reserving his praise for the Lord. He also seemed to retain great respect for others, even when those people treated him with contempt and disrespect.
A powerful example of this can be seen in the respectful way David continued to respond to Saul and Saul's household, even though King Saul was jealous of David and fearful of David usurping his authority. Sadly, in 2 Samuel 1, David learned of Saul's death, and he grieved heavily for him. He even wrote a lament about Saul and Saul's son Jonathan and instructed the people of Judah to learn it and repeat it.
But now the time had come for David to assume the throne that was promised to him by the prophet Samuel. The process began in the land of Judah, then was eventually completed in all the land of Israel. The Lord instructed David to go to Hebron, and there the men of Judah anointed him as their king.
Many people, when they assume a role of leadership, display their insecurities in a very particular way. Maybe you've noticed this as well. From what I have seen, when new leaders take the helm in corporations, teams, governments, and even ministries, it can be common for them to disparage the work of their immediate predecessors. I often see this done by political leaders, but I've also seen ministry leaders follow that pattern on more than one occasion. It's not wise, but it is common.
Even though Saul certainly deserved to be disparaged, what did David choose to do? David honored his predecessor and also made a point to honor those who did the same. When he learned that the men of Jabesh-gilead gave Saul a respectable burial, David spoke a blessing over them and asked the Lord to show His steadfast love and faithfulness to these men who were loyal to Saul, even in death.
Again, that's not a common way to respond to the demise of a leader who slandered you and sought your life. But the Holy Spirit was guiding David's temperament and gave him the desire to honor those He had anointed for service, including Saul.
Have you ever been placed in a similar position to David where you could have spoken ill of someone, but you chose to honor them instead? If you had the opportunity to trash them with your words, but you followed the prompting of the Spirit to hold your tongue, that most certainly is evidence of the Lord fostering spiritual maturity within you. Naturally speaking, we desire revenge. Spiritually speaking, we understand that the Lord is the only one with truly innocent hands, so vengeance should always be left up to Him.
I will also warn you that should you ever choose to step into a role of business or ministry leadership, this is precisely where you're going to be tested. One of the hardest things for me to adjust to when I started serving in more public roles was the amount of criticism and slander I sometimes received. It actually shocked me, and it took me a long time to adjust to it, but the gracious example of people like David has helped me understand there's a healthier way to respond. More often than not, I don't respond defensively. The Lord has been helping me to grow comfortable trusting Him to handle it for me.
Jesus put this all in perspective for us in His Sermon on the Mount when He said, "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12)
After Saul died and the people of Judah anointed David as their king, the rest of Israel made Saul's son, Ish-bosheth king of Israel. Ish-bosheth served in that capacity for two years, even though that position was rightfully David's by prophetic decree. Ish-bosheth was eventually murdered by two men who were captains of raiding bands. After his death, all the tribes of Israel sent elders to David at Hebron where he made a covenant with them and they anointed him to be the king over a united Israel.
Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. 2 In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’” 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years. (2 Samuel 5:1-5)
By virtue of the fact that David reigned for 40 years and people are still talking about him to this day, you can certainly say he was a great man. But what does it mean to really become great? And how can we become "great" without being "great in our own eyes?"
If we're going to be great in the biblical sense of that term, I believe the process begins by living in close proximity to the Lord. There are many people in this world, even some professing believers, who seem to treat the presence of the Lord like a burden and not a blessing. They think of Him as one who seeks to stifle their fun or place a wet blanket over their ambitions. But that's not how David saw the Lord. He wanted to live in the center of the Lord's will and live his days with a strong sense of the fact that the Lord was right there with him in the midst of his joys and his struggles. True greatness cannot be obtained if we're living distant from God.
““And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.” ”
The concept of becoming great isn't something that's only spoken of in David's context. During Christ's earthly ministry, the concept of greatness seemed to fascinate His disciples. They brought the subject up repeatedly, and I assume they were thinking about it because crowds were swarming to Jesus and many expected Him to establish Himself as King over Israel in the political and military sense. The disciples seemed to believe they would serve as Jesus' cabinet or inner circle of leaders once He overthrew the Roman government. But that's not the kind of kingdom Jesus came to establish, and He wasn't espousing greatness in the way many people of this world assume that the term should be used.
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
To be great in the kingdom of heaven, we must repent of our desire for worldly greatness and become like children. Children accept the fact that they don't know everything. They walk by faith, trusting others to meet their needs. They go about their daily lives with humility because of what they can't reach, read, or do. That's the kind of trust and reliance Jesus wants to see in our lives toward Him. Greatness in the kingdom of God can't be obtained apart from that kind of faith.
The other evening, our family sat down to watch home videos I took when our oldest children were just little. It was so cute to watch them learn to walk and talk. They literally trusted us for their every need. God wants that from us as well, even though it can be hard to walk by faith when you're living in the prime of life and it feels like you're operating under your own strength.
Jesus also explained that greatness in His kingdom doesn't resemble the leadership styles of earthly authorities. Most people cannot handle money, power, or influence. In the vast majority of contexts where any one of those three is obtained, they're abused. You don't have to look far to find contemporary examples of that abuse either. How many politicians have you seen become drunk with power the second they obtained it? What do most of them do with their power if they aren't restrained? Most often, they misuse it by becoming overbearing, domineering, and controlling.
“But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” ”
Greatness in the kingdom of God isn't about controlling or dominating other people. It's about serving. That's exactly what Jesus chose to do for us. All creation was spoken into existence through Him, yet He humbly took the form of a servant and gave His life for us. He healed the sick, counseled the confused, washed the feet of His students, and gave His life to rescue the lost. He is the ultimate example of greatness. The pattern of selfless service that He established is the pattern we should model our lives after.
Early in the earthly ministry of Jesus, He said something worth noticing about John the Baptist. Jesus said of him, "I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (Luke 7:28)
John was a humble servant of the Lord who didn't waste his time caring about the trivial things that matter to most people. He gave his time, and ultimately his life, to proclaim the message of repentance that the Lord had entrusted to him. Yet Jesus also says that the one who is least in the kingdom of God is even greater than John. What did He mean by that?
John lived and ministered before the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. There are blessings that you and I as believers under the New Covenant get to experience that John didn't taste during his earthly life. We are a blessed people who have been showered with eternal gifts we couldn't earn and didn't deserve. We were dead in sin, yet Jesus made us alive in Him. We were low, but He has made us great in His eyes. And now, with respect for Him and all He has done for us, He invites us to approach the rest of our earthly lives with an eye toward humbly serving others in His name.
David was raised up to glorify God and serve the people of Israel. Jesus has raised us up so that we would glorify His name and serve others as well. Your service will start in your home, continue in the church, and very likely extend beyond it. But as the Lord lifts you up, don't seek to be great in your own eyes. Keep singing His praises, not your own.
© John Stange, 2023
