May 6, 2012 … Be Careful Whom You Criticize

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 2nd Samuel: 6-7 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
1st Chronicles, Chapter 17 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
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Highlight Passage: … 2nd Samuel 6: 14-16; … 20-23 … 14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might,15 while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. 16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. ...

… 20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" 21 David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord.22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor." 23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

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My Journal for Today: Today’s chronological read in both 2nd Sam. 6-7 and 1st Chron. 17 had a lot to take in, especially about the Covenant God made with King David; but it is the highlight section I’ve copied above from 2nd Sam. 6 which was the reading/study segment I believe God has emboldened in my consciousness this morning for my comments.

Here you read of how, when David had the Ark of the Covenant brought into God’s City, Jerusalem, Michal, his wife and formerly Saul’s daughter, criticized her husband, the God-anointed King, for the flamboyant way David danced and worshipped God. David’s worship was, in her opinion, over-the-top and inappropriate; and she was openly vocal with her criticism of her husband; and the ultimate result, as one can read in Verse 23 of 2nd Sam. 6 was a life of childlessness.

Michal was not the only character in the OT who criticized God’s anointed leaders. Take note of a few others: … Miriam, Moses’ sister, mocked her brother and was stricken with leprosy (see Num. 12). … Korah and others led a rebellion against Moses (see Num. 16); and all the rebels were swallowed up by the earth. … Shimei [in 2nd Sam. 17 and 1st Kings 2] cursed and threw stones at David and was executed by Solomon. And there were others as well in the Bible who openly expressed a hyper-critical attitude against God’s anointed leaders; and God dealt with them somehow, in someway, in God’s own timing and will.

The lesson for me today (and maybe for others); … we really need to be careful with our attitude and our criticism of God’s anointed leaders. Have you ever heard someone gossiping or verbally railing against some ordained church leader, … perhaps their own local Pastor or maybe a church Elder or Deacon? I have; and now I know why it makes me feel very uncomfortable … or sometimes even somewhat angry. I hear people being critical about a Pastor’s sermon; … or maybe criticizing the church worship leader’s choice of songs or the loudness of the music; … or maybe railing criticism of some decision the church Elders have made; and I realize now that these trivial critical attitudinal expressions are not that much different than the self-exposed criticism that Michal had for her husband, King David.

So, I don’t know about you; but I’m going to be more careful and do my best to avoid being hyper-critical with petty selfish attitudes when I question something my ordained and anointed church leaders have executed honestly, in their best and prayed-for decisions, for God’s glory. The ramifications and outcomes of some petty criticism on my part could be personally disastrous; and so, I hope that we all can be more careful with our self-directed critical attitudes expressed to, or about, our anointed church leaders.

My Prayer Today: … Oh, Lord, deliver me from any selfish attitudes which may lead me to be critical of my fellow church leaders, especially my Pastor or fellow Elders. Amen