Scripture – “Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.” So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.” But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my Lord the king see it. But why does my Lord the king want to do such a thing?””
2 Samuel 24:1-3 NIV
Observation – David decides to count the number of fighting men in Israel and Judah even thought he wasn’t at war. He did this to glory in the size of his army and to bask in how powerful he had become. Joab understood David’s motives and knew that David was sinning. David ignored Joab’s rebuke and the nation of Israel suffered because of David’s sin.
Application – Christians do this everyday, especially Christians in business whom God has blessed with the ability to earn money and invest it wisely. God gives different gifts to people.
As Tim Hawkins says, “Parents are people, people with children
And they can be doctors and skyscraper sellers
And bicycle makers and funny joke tellers
They can be lawyers and firemen too
There’s a lot of things a lot of parents can do”
When your gift is earning money you can begin to look at as your source of strength and security and instead of thanking God for it and using it to build his kingdom; you count it and think about how IT will take care of you. You take your eyes off of God, who gave you this blessing. Little by little you begin to worship money. If you find yourself checking the stock market constantly and running scenarios of how much money you will earn if you can get a percentage return, stop and repent. Thank God for your blessings and ask him how he wants you to use this wealth for his kingdom. Being a responsible steward is wise, relying on your wealth instead of God will end in disaster like it did for David.
Prayer – Lord Jesus, thank you for the gifts you give us. Help us everyday to recognize they are from you and for you. Amen.
What are you doing? Do it better 