Life of David – 2 Samuel 19

David, “The Frailty of Feelings”

2 Samuel 19:1–23

Vs. 1-8 A changed perspective

Vs. 9-15 A united purpose

Vs. 16-23 An offer of pardon

Intro

Five times in this chapter (four of which are in the section we will be studying), we see the idea of bringing back the king. You see, even though this is after the death of Absalom, David was still in Mahanaim (two camps). Now he belonged in Jerusalem, and he was the right king, but years of division and civil war had divided the nation. There were two issues at hand: his heart (verses 1–8) and the heart of the people towards him (verses 9–15). What we shall see is that David won’t lift a finger to force himself upon the nation; his return to the throne was not by crushing the opposition but rather by voluntary submission as they lovingly surrendered to the obedience of his will.

How does this relate to us? Well, there will always be strife (civil war) in our lives until the right king is on the throne of our hearts. Now we may be slow in making the right decision to let Jesus reign as Lord of our lives in the first place, but what if it isn’t the first time, like Israel with David? Perhaps you gave Him your heart, but He has been exiled because you have chosen another king to reign like Israel had done with Absalom? The truth is, it is often harder to bring the King back than it is to put him on the throne to begin with. Why is that? Well, it is because the biggest issues of who He is and His right to reign on the throne of our hearts have already been settled. And the reason for His exile has nothing to do with Him and everything to do with us. You see, we were seduced by the lure of this bogus king; we felt he had something to offer us that would make us feel better, and now, because of our failure, we wonder if the Right King will have us back. So we are afraid to come back; it’s our fault we have failed, but it’s only when we surrender to His goodness and away from our pride that we return. Listen up now; God is more relieved to have us back than we are to have Him back on the throne.

A changed perspective

Vs. 1-8 When the soldiers who had risked their lives and suffered losses themselves returned from battle instead of a celebration for the victory, they were met with David’s mourning and pining for the loss of his son Absalom. The result of David’s behavior was that those who had risked so much and suffered the loss of so much, experienced shame instead of joy. God’s rebuke was that David’s obsessive mourning made it seem as though he loved his enemies and hated his friends. “Hey king, this isn’t all about you, and what you have lost is your loss any greater than those who sacrificed everything to see you reign as king; snap out of it.” “You are making people feel guilty that they are alive and Absalom is dead, and these are the very people who lost people themselves. Get up out of your pity party and encourage those who have lost loved ones; these people will leave you!”

Now had Absalom prevailed, David and all his family and friends would have been slaughtered by Absalom. This reminds me of the words of Jesus in Matt. 23:37 when He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” It is a good thing to be brokenhearted for the lost, but we must also realize that the lost bears the responsibility, and obsessive moaning over the lost at the expense of the victory only cheapens the value of it!

What David was experiencing was the guilt of his own failed life and the consequences it had on the life of his family, one that he wished was upon him. David had the desire to atone for his own mistakes and the effects they had upon his family, but he couldn’t (18:33). You may recall David’s own words with regard to this in Ps. 42:11 when he spoke to himself, saying, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, with the help of my countenance and my God.” David’s problem and ours at times is not what he remembered but what he had forgotten. He was overwhelmed with the loss of his son and his own personal responsibility in this, but he had forgotten that in spite of this failure, God was still in control and had just granted him a victory and saved the nation at the cost of other lives. To put this in perspective, where was David’s weeping at Uriah? Where were the words, “O my friend Uriah; my friend, my friend Uriah; if only I had died in your place! O Uriah, my friend, my friend?”

Now in the 24th chapter, after David sins by numbering the people, God gives him three choices as to which judgment would befall David and the nation and says, “Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man” (including himself). It seems as though David had learned by then that God’s mercies are greater than His judgment and that we are far harder on ourselves than He is on us. You see, even though the armies of Absalom had been defeated, there was still a spirit of rebellion amongst many in the nation, and if David didn’t change his tune, the efforts of those valiants would come to nothing as the rebellion would continue and they would place someone else on the throne.

So David responds by doing what I’m sure he didn’t feel like doing, and that was getting on with his life, moving beyond his own failure and the loss of his son. Hey saints, we can’t afford to allow our feelings to dictate our actions; if we do, we will become enslaved to our passions. Sometimes you have to get up and go over and stand in the gate even when every part of your emotions wants to stay in bed.

We don’t always realize how our outlook affects those around us. Far too often our feelings and actions seem to indicate that we are without hope, but Paul wrote in Rom. 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” We aren’t a people that have no hope because we trust in the God of hope and are abounding in hope by the Holy Spirit. We, like David, need to snap out of it. Life is full of choices, and joy is one of the most important ones we can make. “I’m going to trust you, Lord, even though I may not feel like it or see in this life the answer to my questions of why because I already have the answer to the most important question, WHO!” You know that verse in Rom. 8:28, “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

There were three things that God did to reconcile the nation back to Himself, and the first one is right here:

Vs. 1-8 He changed their perspective: David the father forgot for a moment that He was David the servant of the Lord. The Scottish pastor Andrew Bonar once said, “Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle.” David was in danger of winning the battle but losing the victory as he turned what should have been a time of celebration into a time of shame and guilt. Hey saints, pay attention, as we can do the same. Huh? Well here we have been victorious in Jesus; we who were once dead have been made alive, but we can spend far too much time moping around with the “Woe is me attitude!” There are far too many times that we lose our heavenly perspective because of earthly trials. We, like David, can become obsessed with the things dying around us in the world and become cynical and sour. It is very easy for me to slip into this, and people become far too aware of what I’m against but have no clue what I’m for. So go stand by the gate and let them know what you are for.

A united purpose

Vs. 9-15 There remained a question in the hearts of some of the people concerning David’s competence in being able to defend the nation because he had run from Absalom, to which others responded, “Well, he was able to do so in the past, and the man you appointed died on the run.” Based upon verse 11, this debate was reaching into David’s living room as well, and the fact that Judah had made a decision either weighed upon his heart or he sent the two priests back to find out what was going on. He also sent word to his son’s commander, Amasa, who was his cousin, saying, “Aren’t we cousins?” I’ll put you in charge of my army instead of Joab. There were no doubt two reasons for this:

He was angry at Joab for taking the life of his son and disregarding his orders to take him alive.
He thought that this may go over better to help consolidate the two parties, even though Amasa was clearly not as good at commanding the army as were Joab and his brother Abishai.

Apparently this worked, as we are told in verse 14 that this “swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah, just as the heart of one man, so that they sent this word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants!” David wouldn’t come back as king of the nation until the people wanted him back as their king. So when they said, “Return, you and all your servants!” he came back. So while David was at Gilgal (verse 15), Judah came out to meet him and escorted him back into Jerusalem, wanting him again to reign as king. Now David didn’t want to force his reign on Israel and would only come back as king if all those who rejected him for Absalom wanted him back as king. He could have forced the issue, but instead he wanted the voluntary submission to his reign as king.

Now that is what Jesus does as well. He won’t force His reign on us; He won’t put a gun to our heads and say, “You better make me your king or I’ll kill you!” Fast forward to the Son of David, Jesus, who said in Luke 13:34-35, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!”

Then in John 19:37, which is a partial fulfillment of Zech. 12:10, we are told that “They (the Jews) shall look on Him whom they pierced.” The final fulfillment of that prophecy will be in Rev. 14, where 144,000 Jews during the tribulation period will recognize Jesus as their messiah and begin to tell the world. Finally, John himself in Rev 22:20 says, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Hey saint, the Son of David will only return to reign in hearts that say, “Return, you and all your servants!” He has always been invited and will never force His reign upon people, so let’s begin to say, as John says, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” That is the second of the

three things that God did to reconcile the nation back to Himself, right here:

Vs. 9-15 He united their purpose: The nation was divided between loyalties to Absalom and loyalties to David. David had complicated this by two separate things: his choice to flee Absalom instead of fight, and his above-mentioned attitude of focusing on his loss instead of the Lord’s gain. The leaders of all of Israel should have sent an envoy welcoming him back as king, but they didn’t, and instead a national debate ensued as to his qualifications to lead. How did he unite them?

Well, first he acted as king, not waiting to see how the debate went; he took action. He first went to the elders of his tribe, Judah, using priests as intermediaries, and he wanted to know why they hadn’t taken action upon his return. Now that is interesting; he pushed them into making a decision—a deceitful move for David. The Lord is not concerned with the polls as to whether or not He is the King of Kings; instead, His election upon the throne of your heart needs to be made quickly without hesitation.
Second, he revealed his heart as king towards those that were once against him by appointing Amasa to be the general of his army instead of Joab. Amasa was his cousin, but he had been Absalom’s general, and if Judah was concerned with how David would receive those who had at one time opposed him, this appointment would have shown his heart of reconciliation, as it was Amasa who had been put in charge of searching out to find David and killing him. Joab was removed because he had disobeyed the king’s commands and had gradually been increasing his importance in the eyes of the nation. In fact, he will kill Amasa in the next chapter because he is threatened by his authority.
Finally, all this took place at Gilgal, where the nation renewed its commitment to the Lord. So too, like David, whenever we have been divided against the Lord and rebelled, we need to make a fresh commitment to the Lord by rededicating ourselves to Him.

An offer of pardon

Vs. 16-23 As David is being ferried across Jordan, this Shimei comes swimming over to make things right, as is this same fellow who had hurled insults, rocks, and dirt at David and his men at his departure. So now he comes saying, “I’m sorry, David, for all those words, rocks, and dirt. I didn’t mean it. Please forgive my stupidity; see, I’m the first guy here today to get right with you.” You see, he hadn’t thought David would survive Absalom, and now he needs to get it right.

Consider Shimei’s words of repentance, which had every sign of being genuine:

“Shimei, the son of Gera, fell down before the king.” They appear to be humble, as he fell down before David.
“Do not let my lord impute iniquity to me, or remember what wrong your servant did on the day that my lord the king left Jerusalem, that the king should take it to heart.” Three times Shimei reveres David as the king, and so his repentance appears to honor the king.
“For I, your servant, know that I have sinned.” Clearly, his words appear to be honest, as they make no excuses for his sinful behavior.
“Therefore here I am, the first to come today of all the houses of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.” Finally, his repentance appears to not be mere words, as it is tied to behavior.

But later on, David, before he dies, told his son Solomon to put this guy’s true attention to test and said, “After I’m gone, tell Shimei that he is under house arrest and he can’t leave Jerusalem for any reason, and if he disobeys, kill him.” You see, David saw over time that though Shimei’s repentance appeared to be humble, sincere, and even seemed to be tied with change, over time he was still the same fellow. So three years later, Shimei had a couple of his servants run away, and he ran down to Gath himself to get them, and that was it. Now this reminds us of the words Paul said to King Agrippa in Acts 26:20, when he had declared to those in Damascus, Jerusalem, the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, “That they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.” There are works “befitting repentance.” In John 6:29 Jesus said, “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent.” How is that seen? Well, through obedience and the willing submission of our lives to His word. So clearly, Shimei didn’t want to be subservient to the king; he didn’t want to obey him, thus his repentance was not real.

Hey saints, There are a lot of folks like Shimei who chose another king to reign on the throne of their hearts until following him ruins their lives, and when things don’t work out like they expected, they seem to want to place Jesus upon the throne. But the truth is Shimei hadn’t wanted David to be king in the first place, and he only wants him now because he has cursed him, and now he is afraid David is going to kill him. In 1 Kings 18:21, Elijah came to all the people and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” Then we are told that “the people answered him not a word.” There are far too many of us professing believers “faltering between two opinions,” switching back and forth between the Lord and the world. Listen up; following any other ideology, placing anything or anyone upon the throne of your heart will only bring you misery and confusion.

You cannot have a little of Jesus and a little of the world; they are mutually exclusive. There are those who legitimately want Jesus to reign as king (like Israel) over their lives, and when they ask Him to return it is for real. Ah, but then there are folks who are a lot like Shimei who say and do all the right things, but time bears out their true hearts as they just are trying to purchase some fire insurance. Abishai still wants to take the guy’s head off; perhaps he had been hit by one of Shimei’s rocks, but David says, “Let it go, bro; I’ve just been made king today, and I’m not going to kill this little punk on this day.”

The third of the three things that God did to reconcile the nation back to Himself is:

Vs. 16-23 He offered all a pardon for their rebellion: Shimei was a descendant of Saul who had kicked up dirt on David and his men. Shimei deserved death for what he had done, and Abishai, for the 2nd time, offers to take off his head, and again, for the 2nd time, David stops him from doing so. The first time David said that, Lord must have felt that he needed it. But now the reason is that today was a day of rejoicing, not a day of revenge, and in so doing, for all those who were truly repentant of their sins, they were pardoned from their rightful punishment.

David promised not to kill Shimei in his lifetime, but he warned Solomon about him and to keep him under house arrest, and if he ever left Jerusalem, to put him to death. Now Shimei showed his true heart because he would not submit under the king’s authority and showed that he didn’t appreciate David’s mercy or Solomon’s grace and, in his arrogance, went and did whatever he wanted even when he knew the consequences. Hey folks, mark that as there are far too many who think that once they mouth the words of repentance, they then can spurn God’s rightful authority over their lives and reject his mercy and grace.

Now note this friend if you are trying to bring the King back and put him on the throne that He is the one who will:

Change our perspective.
Unite our purpose
Pardon our rebellion.

David, “The Greatest Gift”

2 Samuel 19:24-43

Vs. 24-30 Give me the giver, not the gifts.

Vs. 31-39 More blessed to give than receive

Vs. 40-43 The right reason for the season

Intro

I don’t know about you, but this time of year seems to creep up on me. I mean, I just got so busy that just the other day I looked at my calendar and realized that next weekend is Christmas. The truth is, I had become so busy with preparing all the activities associated with this time of year that I was missing the reason for all the activities. You know what I mean? Something similar could have happened with David’s return in this section, as we are given three examples of having the right heart about David’s return to the throne.

Last week the key thought was “the king’s return,” but here the thought changes to right reactions associated with his return. In these three reactions, I see a heart that desires the giver above the gift. I was reading “Our Daily Bread” this week, and the author Peter Larson wrote this concerning Jesus that just jumped out when he wrote: Jesus’ life was encompassed by two impossibilities:

The virgin’s womb
The empty tomb

Our Lord entered our world through a door marked “no entrance” and left our world through a door marked “no exit”! And in between those two impossibilities, He lived a life that said to all, “No one left out!” The only question that remains is: What will our response to Him be?

Give me the giver, not the gifts.

Vs. 24-30 In 2 Samuel 9, David fulfilled the promise he made to Jonathan by showing kindness towards his only surviving son, Mephibosheth. When David became king, he inherited everything that had belonged to Saul, but to honor his friend Jonathan (Saul’s son), David sought out and found Mephibosheth and blessed him by giving him his ancestral lands. It seems that Ziba had been Saul’s servant and as such had been caring for the lands as if they were his until David gave them to Mephibosheth. Thus the events of chapter 16:1-4, as David was leaving Jerusalem, Ziba met David with supplies and claimed the supplies were from him and that Mephibosheth had wanted the kingdom for himself—a lie that was designed to get David to give him his masters lands and property.

So now we come to the events of this chapter, and based upon verse one, Mephibosheth has become Mephibo-mess since the day the king departed from the throne. Simply put, David could see and smell Mephibosheth’s sincerity. There are many things about Mephibosheth that I can relate to too:

There is the fact that he was dropped by life, and this left him unable to function in life, as he was crippled.
Then there is the fact that he was taken in by a benevolent king who not only restored to him what he had lost, he also adopted him and invited him to dine with him at his table.
Then I can relate to the mess my life becomes when the king is not on the throne, how my former life has a way of creeping back in, and pretty soon I begin to look far more like my former self, a mess.
Ah, but I can also relate to the elation of wanting to have the King come for me and take me home, and the things of this world grow faintly dim.

Mephibosheth, who had been made a son, had fallen apart without the king daily in his life. Is that not true in our own personal lives when the king is not ruling on the throne of our hearts, we can’t walk, and we become un-kept a real smelly mess?

So when David saw him, he wanted to know why he hadn’t gone with him (verse 25), to which Mephibosheth says, “Hey, I saddled my donkey, packed my bags, and Ziba stole my donkey and told lies about my intentions to you, but that’s not why I’m here today. I’m just glad you’re back in my life.” Here’s what’s cool. Even though Ziba had lied and David had believed the lie, Mephibosheth doesn’t demand justice; he doesn’t want what David gave to Ziba when he believed the lie. Why? Well, because as far as Mephibosheth is concerned, he had already gotten far more from the hand of David, far more than he had ever deserved; even though he lost everything, he was still far ahead of where he should have been.

I think it is always the truest sign of personal restoration with the Lord when you aren’t out to get anything back, even if it was taken from you because you are too elated to have the King back in your life! As far as Mephibosheth was concerned, having at one time gotten to eat at the king’s table was more than enough, even if he never ate there again or got what he had been given back. Man, I’ve got to tell you I want what Mephibosheth has in his life: an attitude of gratitude, a heart that says, as the psalmist says in 84:10, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”

How is that possible? Now follow me on this, saints, as this not only reveals the heart of Mephibosheth, it also reveals something greater, and that is how great it was to be at the king’s table! We can only have this attitude if we have dug deep into the food of intimacy with the king. I’m afraid that the reason many are more concerned with the things of this world instead of time with the King is that they have never sampled the wonders of dining at His table!

So why does David only offer back half of the lands that Ziba tricked David into giving instead of restoring it all? Well, I suggest that David was testing Mephibosheth to see if his heart was in the right place. You may recall the story in 1 Kings 3:16-27 when two ladies came both claiming to be the mother of a baby, to which Solomon suggested to cut the baby in two and give a half to each, knowing that the true mother would rather the child go be with the other woman than see her child dead. Well, young Solomon is watching his father deal with Mephibosheth. So here David says, “Divide it up,” to which Mephibosheth’s next words must have blown his mind: “Man, I’m so glad you’re back in my life; he can have it all!” How about it? Do we care more for the “giver” than the gifts? Is it more important that the king has come home in your heart, or is it about the “stuff”? Oh dear saints, that our hearts would be like that of Mephibosheth’s, who cared nothing for his rights and everything for being right with the king.

Mephibosheth’s love for the king was far greater than his love of things that the king had given him. If that is our heart, then it will be no big thing if what he has granted us in terms of possessions is given over to someone else. How is this possible? Well verse 28 tells us, “You set your servant among those who eat at your own table.” It is possible only if we continually enjoy dining at the Lord’s table. Solomon would write in Song of Solomon 2:4: “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.” To Mephibosheth, what he missed was dining at the king’s table far more than the property of his father. Truly Mephibosheth has it right; as martyred missionary Jim Eliot once said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he can never lose!” What are you trying to tell me, pastor? Only that there needs to be a lot more of Mephibosheth in us and a lot less Ziba!

More blessed to give than receive

Vs. 31-39 Now you might recall that it was Barzillai (Bar-zil-lay-i) along with Machir and Shobi who brought help to David and his men in 17:28.

You see, Shobi brought aid even though his brother had been an enemy of David.
Machir brought aid even though he had been giving aid to Mephibosheth.
And Barzillai? Well, here we are told that he brought aid even though he was 80.

Based upon the text, we learn two important things about Barzillai:

He was a very wealthy man, and he is the fellow who, along with Shobi and Machir, came down to David supplying beds and basins and all sorts of food supplies to refresh those that were “hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness” (17:27–29).
The other thing we learn about Barzillai is that he is an elderly man, being 80 years of age. His name means “strong as iron,” and when it came to serving the king, that was his disposition, as nothing could break his desire to be a blessing to the king.

Here’s my point. Some folks use their handicaps as excuses not to serve the king, while others see not handicaps but rather opportunities to serve the king, bringing aid to all who are “hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness” (verse 29).

This guy, Barzillai, may have been old, but God had blessed him with great resources, and he was willing to use them for the king and his kingdom. So perhaps your thinking, “Man, I’m too old to serve the King; I don’t have the resources,” takes it from old Barzillai, who is a great example of Jesus’ words in Luke 12:21, who laid up treasures in heaven and not on earth. I think that is the truest example of a wealthy person: “One who knows how to spend God’s treasures to best bless the King.” He didn’t want to be:

Reimbursed
He didn’t care about getting a tax write off.
He didn’t want to be noticed.

Oh to God that we all, despite our age, had the disposition of Barzillai when it came to spending his resources to bless the king. Barzillai came to greet David and escort him back, not because he wanted anything from him but just to be a blessing. What Barzillai didn’t want or need for himself, he wanted others to enjoy; that’s the right kind of heart to have. David wants him to go with him, and he wants to return the favor. It’s clear from Barzillai’s description of himself that he is losing his senses, “the sense of taste and hearing,” and he can’t remember things. So he says, “Thanks, King, but I’m too old and I’m forgetting more things than I can enjoy.” Now that’s a switch: “I’m not too old to be a blessing, but I’m too old to enjoy the blessings, so spend them on someone who can appreciate them more.” What did he ask for? Well verse 37 says, “Hey David, I want to give you my servant Chimham.” Now most commentators believe that this was the youngest son of Barzillai (1 Kings 2:7), but what fascinates me is that his name means “longing.”

David offered Barzillai the blessings of the palace, to which Barzillai offered his son to the king to be David’s servant. That’s the kind of man I want to be, like the kind of fellow who would rather be a blessing than to be blessed. How is that possible? Well, Barzillai saw himself as a man who had already been blessed, not as one who needed to be blessed. Consider his old age when we could have been selfish and said, “I need my family around me; I’m getting old; I like familiarity.” But not Barzillai, as he wanted to bless the king as well as his son, so he gave David, his youngest boy, “longing” to have the blessing of being a servant of the king. Oh dear saint, that you and I would be “longing” to be a servant of the King of Kings. There is a book that traces this Barzillai’s family, and it suggests that his son Chimham started an Inn in Bethlehem for wayward people in honor of his father, and it was this Inn that Joseph and Mary went to, to which they were told that there was no room and that one of his descendants found room in a stall.

The right reason for the season

Vs. 40-43 Now as the King, Chimham, and half the people of Israel went on to Gilgal, Judah, David’s tribe acted as an escort. Apparently the northern tribes felt excluded in the ceremony of bringing back David from the Jordan River; they didn’t want to appear to be any less supportive of the king. “How come we weren’t invited to the party?” The argument of Israel had nothing to do with the king and everything to do with who had greater patriotism. This “two tribe” system of government will eventually lead to a divided nation where it was all about how the actions of Judah made Israel look less enthusiastic towards the king.

Judah’s response was, “We’re doing this because he’s our family; we haven’t sat down at the table yet, and we aren’t eating at the king’s expense or opening any presents, so what’s your beef?” Judah has the right reason for the season in as much as they are there for the King, not to get something from the King. It appears as though Israel was worried they were being left out, and Israel offers two reasons they deserve to take the lead:

We have ten reasons: They crunched the numbers, and they have ten tribes to two as Judah had absorbed the tribe of Simeon.
It was an idea first: And we were the first to advise him to bring him back.

Doesn’t that just sound like children? A few weeks earlier, these folks were fighting against David; now they are fighting over him. Hey. People are fickle, and if you serve them because they always respond to you, then sooner or later they will say we don’t want you. Over the 20 years or so I’ve been involved in ministry, I’ve found that the best way I can be of use for Jesus is when my sole motivation in serving God’s people is when I’m doing so out of love for “him” instead of out of love for “them.”

Saints, there is enough of the king to go around for all of us, and we need not bicker over who has the most right to Him; instead, let’s get together and further his kingdom. Far too often, God’s people are in competition with each other as to who is the greatest. This is nothing new, as in Mark 9:34–35, the disciples “disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” So there you have it. Go for it. Win the race to being the greatest, and Jesus even tells you how to do it by being a servant of all.