Don't Lift Against Master

I WILL NOT LIFT MY HAND AGAINST MY MASTER, BECAUSE HE IS THE LORD'S ANOINTED. 1 Samuel 24.10.

I know of a church which went through a period of great stress because of an unnecessary fight between the pastor and his congregation. Humility and Wisdom on the part of the young pastor, instead of asserting that he was the spokesman for God, could have saved the day! It was very sad that the believers had to act against their leader. Such things are happening all the time. Allegations against even internationally known leaders of exceedingly fabulous lifestyles and gross immorality have become common. These have become matters of contention! One safeguard is for every pastor or leader to have at least one counsellor or mentor who is an older, mature and wise believer of repute, and to seek his counsel constantly and be willing to abide by it!

We live in days of confrontations of children against parents, pupils against teachers, employees against bosses and the people against leaders and government. While some of these confrontations are unnecessary, there are others which are legitimate and even necessary. Whether Christians should get involved in confrontations is an age-old question with no foolproof answers. We need divine wisdom and patience not to do what is wrong and boldness to do what is right!

Did David do the right thing in not killing his enemy King Saul, but sparing his life when he was hunting him down like a poor fox? Listen to David’s men, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish'". If God had really reckoned Saul as David’s enemy, which he was, and decided to give him into David’s hand, do you think that David was wise in sparing his life?

There were many paradoxes in David’s life which are hard to understand. Certainly, there were times when David acted foolishly and sentimentally, and when he did things impulsively and rashly. Had it not been for the counsel of some of his trusted friends, he would have even perished or lost favour with the people. Being children of God is no guarantee that we will always act wisely. We need to seek wise counsel and God’s will every time and in all situations. Where as once people sought the counsel of God and godly leaders and heeded it, today no one wants to take counsel, though we have access to even professional counsellors.

Dear believer, here is some wise counsel from today’s lesson:

- God has a plan for you. Wait for His time for things to happen.
- Do not fret and try to take things in your hand too quickly to accomplish God’s plan for you.
- Whatever it is, don’t ever adopt wicked, crooked or violent methods to fulfill God’s plan sooner!
- When it is time to act, do not hesitate or postpone doing things, assuming an attitude of false piety or surrender to God.
- Acting when the opportunity presents shows your confidence in God.
- If you are not convinced, it is better to wait for God than hurry.
- No one has really lost out because he waited!
- Many have messed up their lives by going ahead of God’s time.
- Beware when one has to speak or act against a leader. Make sure that you have heard God well and followed biblical injunctions.
- Make sure that you have consulted one or more mature leaders, like pastors or elders.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, save me from self-righteousness and self-will. Grant me wisdom to know what to do and what not to do. Sometimes I do not know what is right. Teach me Your way. Lead me in paths of righteousness. Amen.