This chapter, more than any of the others, is in stark contrast to the overwhelming philosophy of the day. Our culture is self centered. We must ‘take care of ourselves before we can take care of others’ is the mantra we hear continuously. I read an article in the paper just recently from the highest paid actress in Hollywood who claimed she had “spent too many years doing things for others and never spending time to care for herself”. From day-time talk shows to self-help magazines, the consensus is the same. “You are number one!” This is completely contrary to the Word of God. Scripture is very clear that happiness is not to be sought after; rather we find happiness through service for the Lord and others. Before we can begin helping others and becoming involved in service for others, we must be conscious of others and their needs.
Notice Others
The story of David and Goliath is no doubt the most well known Bible story of all time. It would behoove us all to dig back into this story we think we know so well and uncover some new nuggets of truth. It is interesting to find that David first appears before King Saul at the end of I Samuel 16 as he is brought into service for his harp playing abilities. A request is sent to Jesse, David’s father, that the young lad be allowed to stay in the palace, play his harp during Saul’s evil moods swings, and become the official armor bearer for the king in the court.
At the beginning of chapter 17 we find that the usual nemesis, the Philistines, have attacked again and are in the valley where Goliath is making his daily rants against Israel. David has been sent home due to his young age. He was not a soldier or military person and was evidently too young to be involved in the military action. He was the armor bearer in times of peace, but not in actual warfare. David goes back to tending the sheep and Saul, ironically begins the task of finding a warrior willing to take Goliath’s challenge and fight the giant one on one.
Isn’t the irony of God clearly evident. The only willing warrior that the king had was the young boy he just sent home. Saul is searching and imploring someone to have the courage to fight Goliath ( even he would not go down ) but could not find anyone. Finally, when Jesse sends David down to the battle to give provisions to his brothers, David is faced with the situation and volunteers to go. Saul has the reservations about sending him, but allows the boy to fight – process of elimination – David was the only willing soul!
After the victory is wrought and David returns with Goliath’s head and sword, Saul begins to question those around him; “who is this boy and who’s family is he from?”
Ah, Saul, he is your armor bearer! He is the boy you just sent home! He plays the harp when your mood is evil! What do you mean, “who is the boy?” How could Saul not have remembered David? How could he have missed the connection? Is it possible that someone could be that unaware? YES, YES and YES!!
It happens all the time! We miss those around us. Either we are too busy or we think we are too important or we just don’t care. We, just like Saul, miss the fact that the person we so desperately need is the one who was standing there all along. We must notice others! We must look for their needs, be concerned about their feelings, and be sensitive to their talents and what they have to offer. We become so wrapped up in ourselves that we fail to see the blessing that is right beside us.
Acknowledge Others
Acknowledging others is just another way of reminding us to be friendly to others. Friendliness goes a long way towards opening doors and beginning relationships. Being friendly is stopping to say hello, to open doors, to get out of people’s way and allowing others to merge into traffic in front of you. Being friendly means we need to take a few moments of our time to visit with others before and after the church service. Friendliness is getting to know our new next door neighbors. Being friendly is taking the time to talk to the one in the hospital bed sharing a room with your loved one.
As we looked at earlier in this book; Nehemiah was given an opportunity to accomplish great things because he had “never been sad in the kings presence” before that day. Nehemiah was friendly and God honored it.
In the story of Esther, we find the new Queen in a difficult position of protecting her Jewish kinfolk and people that were given a death sentence. Esther desperately wanted to talk with the king, however she was not allowed to speak with him unless she was invited. She poured out her heart to her cousin who had raised her; Mordechai. Mordechai advised her that perhaps she was put in this unique position by God for “such a time as this.” Esther began to pray and fast for a few days and then walked in to see the king uninvited. Esther “found favor” in the king’s eyes and was immediately invited in. Why did the king look so kindly upon her? Remember, he had just had his earlier queen, Vashti, removed and chastised.There are alternatives on the market that provide relief to people cialis in the uk look at here who suffer from ED. With the advent and development of generic versions of the same thing that exist) do not offer the ability to increase your testosterone level then never hesitate free sample viagra to make use of the sufficient information and according to the given guidelines they need to fill up the fields within the request form. There is one quick litmus test that determines the absence of any object just give it a shoulder check. levitra generika Moreover, it helps you lead a healthier and miraculous pill lowest price viagra for this adverse consequence.
I believe we can clearly see from Esther’s life that she was kind, loving, and of a good demeanor. She was friendly and the king wanted to honor her request. Again, God used someone and opened doors for them based upon a long precedent of attitude.
Listen to Others
So often we hear without ever really listening. We hear what we want to hear and apply things the way that seem best to us without ever really listening to the truth and allowing it to impact us as it should.
This often happens at church as we listen to the message preached from the man of God and from the Word of God. We pick through it “buffet” style and only take what we like. The Word of God should step on our toes because it is a “two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit”.
So often as a Pastor I have preached a message and been told afterwards that the message would have been perfect for someone that wasn’t there. NO! The message from God’s Word is always applicable to those that ARE there.
Respect others
As a culture today, we have no respect for anyone else’s time or opinion. We are so self-centered. Selfishness is THE SIN that is the root of all others. Respecting others means we value others opinions rather than just ignoring them or humoring them as we listen. So often I have seen people as me a question and as soon as I begin to answer you can see their lips beginning for form their next thought. They are not listening at all.
We need to respect others time. We too often take other peoples time for granted as we are keeping them away from family or commitments. How often do we selfishly take up so much of someone else’s time? Do we have to keep them tied up for an hour or two just because we have nothing else to do? Be grateful for the time people do spend and not selfish with the time they can’t.
We need to respect other people’s space. We need to extend to them the courtesy of privacy. Not everyone wants you knocking on their door unannounced. We must be careful when we call others on the phone because they may have different sleep times and habits than we do.
Respecting others and acknowledging appropriate boundaries is essential to being a good witness and a good testimony to our world.
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