For the Sake of His People

A friend and I were talking about the American church. My friend, it should be noted, has spent a lot of time in the jungle of Brazil, which has given him a lot more insight into American culture than most people his age. His thoughts on Social Security: "If I tried to tell a guy in Brazil about retiring, he'd laugh at me. He'd say, 'Yeah, I plan to retire at 55. I plan to serve God until then and then die and retire in Heaven.'" His thoughts on modern necessities: "Who am I to tell this guy he needs a better toilet when he has a roof over his head, clothes on his back, and people who look out for him? He used to be a naked and unloved nomad. Compared to where he has come from, he has got it MADE. He's the king."

Anyway, he and I were discussing how sad it is that America has so much wealth and doesn't know what to do with it. He talked about a recent church project in his area that cost an insane amount. We also talked about a megachurch in California that gave some second thought to their massive building project and decided instead to build an amphitheater. They saved more than a million dollars and sent the extra to people who needed it.

This conversation happened right around the same time that I was reading 2 Samuel 5 In this chapter the new king David defeats the Jebusites who live in Jerusalem. David will, during the rest of his reign, begin building that city into the cultural and religious wonder that it is to this day. Shortly after David takes possession of "The City of David," a foreign king sends supplies and workers to him to build him a house (probably more of a palace than a house). As a result, "David realized that the Lord had established him as King over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel." (v12)

A lot of American Christians realize the truth that God has blessed them and made them "king" over a certain territory physically or even spiritually. What a tragic number of them fail to grasp is that God has given them that wealth, position, influence, etc. for the sake of His people (the spiritual descendants of Abraham). David realized that all of this blessing was not because God liked him so much that he just wanted to make him happy. It wasn't just because God wanted him to be able to do more good things. It was because God wanted to bring honor to Himself through David and through the people David represented and had a responsibility to care for.

God wants to bless His people, not just their king(s). This completely changes the way a person views blessing. If God wants to bless me, I hoard. If He wants to bless His people, I see myself as a vessel of His provision to the body of Christ.