2 Samuel 7,4-13
David has reached the peak of his power, but the road he has had to travel to get to this point has been a rocky one. But this path was necessary to let him become the man he is now. He is more than aware that he owes it to God to have come to this position and this reputation. And now he wants to build a house for his god. From a human point of view you just have to say wow. But God sees things differently. He doesn't want a house for himself because he wants to be with his people. He doesn't mind living in a tent and wandering with his people. And so verses 4-13 in 2 Samuel read almost with an ironic overtone. But that's not how God works. You could say that God is turning the tables. Because he reminds David of what he has already done for him and at the same time tells him that he, God, will build David a house. And this house will last for generations to come. The house for him, God, someone else will build. A son of David. For me, God's decision to prevent David's house from being built is also a protection against pride and arrogance. If David had built a temple for God, he would have built a structure for himself at the same time. In that case, his name would always have been associated with this temple. And that's not what God wanted.
Even today, pride and arrogance are the greatest enemies of a Christian. If we succeed in all the projects we strive for, then we as humans very quickly have the feeling that we are the ones who have achieved this success. There is invaluable learning potential in the failures we experience. They, the failures, help keep us grounded. Not being able to do everything helps us remain humble and grateful.
Pride and hubris tend to poison existing relationships. Suddenly one feels better than the other and one begins to look down on the other. I think it is important that we stay vigilant to counteract this trend. The community that we form as Christians should strengthen us and help us to support each other in personal crises. We must not allow any form of bullying to develop in our Christian culture. One begins to look down on the other.
In the end we are all pardoned sinners and no one is better than the other.
A great danger in our Christian faith communities is the claim that we always want to treat our counterparts kindly. We speak between the lines too often. Criticism as we know it from the world is rarely expressed. Positively formulated criticism is helpful and healing in most cases. Personally, I can only change if I receive regular input from outside. These inputs protect me from arrogance and false pride.
As always, I want to share the story of David with you. Look them up in the Bible for yourself and then draw your own conclusions.
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