Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Samuel 9-10

Highlight Verses:

“One day David asked, “Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive—anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?””
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬
“So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I picked one verse from each chapter today because I thought they showed a good contrast between honor and pride.

It was David’s honor that caused him to want to recognize his deep friendship with Jonathan by showing kindness to Mephibosheth (one of my favorite Bible names).

It was Hanun’s pride that caused him to dishonor David’s ambassadors.

David’s honor resulted in a good relationship with Mephibosheth and more respect for David by the people.

Hanun’s pride resulted in the resounding defeat of his own people.

Much of what we call pride today is honor. We honor our troops, our country, those who have gone on before us, and those who have been a blessing to us. We can humbly accept honor when we are recognized for our achievements or victories.

When we take all the credit for ourselves for those victories, that’s pride.
When we focus on ourselves, our desires, our ideas, our own achievements, that’s pride.
When other’s opinions are less important than our own, that’s pride.

That didn’t work out so well for the Ammonites.
How is it working for you?

Do you find yourself acting in honor or selfish pride?
How do you think you can tell the difference?