Refreshing Humility

 

"Then Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. And said to him, Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel,

and I shall be next to you.

Even my father Saul knows that" (1 Samuel 23:16-17).

What a wonderful example of humility we see here in Jonathan. Being King Saul's eldest son, Jonathan was next in line to be king of Israel, yet we don't see him battling to keep his right to be king. Instead, we see him recognizing and submitting to what God is doing. I love the fact that he isn't even trying to hold onto any part of being king. He tells David, "I will be next to you", in other words, I will be your biggest defender and best support.  Jonathan doesn't demand to be co-king or vice-king, he just tells David he will serve him.

How refreshing this is for us, especially in these narcissistic times, when so much energy and time is spent on building image and status through every means possible. It seems every day a new something is revealed in social media to help you tell others about you and all the cool things you are doing. I wonder who would have more followers on Twitter, or Instagram....David or Jonathan?

We invent new titles for what we do, so as to impress.....barista (coffee maker), office administrator (secretary), flight attendant (stewardess), table host (waiter), collector of external residue (trash collector), community visionary (pastor!!). Again, how refreshing it is to see the heart of the young man Jonathan as he humbly tells David, "I will be next to you."

Of all people, we who follow Jesus ought to live in humility. In Jesus we see the greatest example of all...that God would become man! Let's be determined to live our lives free of selfish ambition, and oh, how refreshing that is.