Living in the Spirit
July 23, 2018
Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 11:1-15
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, ‘This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ So David sent messengers to fetch her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, ‘I am pregnant.’ –2 Samuel 11:1-5
I guess David finally reached a point of being what I call full of himself. He had indeed accomplished much as a general and as a King. Apparently, even the battlefield was boring to him. What is a king to do who has everything except take something that is not his? It is called privilege, we are all capable of practicing it, and it is insidious because we are blind to it. We live in denial when and if it is brought to our attention.
Having worked for 35 years for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, I was often accosted by people including relatives who told me everything there was to know about people in poverty describing them all as being lazy and having babies all the time probably not knowing who the fathers were, living off the righteous person’s hard-earned tax dollars that paid for the welfare and food stamps of those living in poverty. I gave up early in my career trying to share my experiences. These people were not open to listening. What I originally tried to tell them was that people in all walks of life are basically the same. As the movie title suggest there are the good, the bad, and the ugly. None are ever fully one of these. How we treat each other often shapes what others become.
When we suffer times of restlessness, not knowing what to do with ourselves, perhaps seeking new meaning for our lives, we need first to recognize our restlessness. We are most vulnerable as David was at such a time. Has a major life change occurred? Have we obtained a long-sought goal and don’t quite know what to do with ourselves? While evil may lurk about in such a time as these so does the Holy Spirit. Who knows what wonders the Spirit might have in mind for us if we seek the Spirit’s guidance.
Prayer: Lord, help us fill the tug of the Spirit when we are restless and bored. Protect us from evil and guide us to new ventures in your service. Amen.