Friday, May 13, 2011

Measurements

Scripture Passage that caught my attention today: 2 Samuel 24:2-4 So the king said to Joab and the commanders of the army, who were with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and take a census of the people, so that I may know how many there are.” 3 But Joab said to the king, “May the LORD your God increase the number of the people a hundredfold, while the eyes of my lord the king can still see it! But why does my lord the king want to do this?” 4 But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to take a census of the people of Israel.

Observation: In some ways this passage is quite confusing. In context the Lord incites King David to count the people. But Joab sees it as a bad thing and later the Lord is angry at David for doing so and brings about a pestilence as punishment. But I guess the heart of the matter is that Kings and other persons in authority sometimes do foolish things, often from pride. David wanted to know how many people were in the kingdom.

Application: Measurements are a tricky thing. In some ways it is helpful to measure things to have some idea for how well we are doing. Measurements sometimes help us determine whether we are improving. For example, a scale provides one measure of health and can help us see if we are making progress toward losing (or gaining) weight, assuming either would be appropriate for us. But measurements can also provide a false sense of security and/or superiority. Measurements can also provide a false sense of insecurity and/or inferiority. Regardless of the various measurements in life, it’s important to be comfortable and content with who we are and who God has called us to be.

Prayer: Lord, there’s nothing wrong with striving for improvement. But help us never to lose sight of the fact that we are first and foremost loved by you for who we are, rather than what we can or can’t do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(readings today included: 2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21, Psalm 30, 1 Thessalonians 2)

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