May 5

David was a great man of God, an exemplary warrior full of courage, and a wise king. But, God had determined that David would not be the one to build a permanent Temple for the Lord (I Chronicles 17:7; 22:6-10; 28:2&3). Being the leader he was, David decided that if he could not personally build the Temple, he would make sure the one who did, would have all the resources necessary to build a Temple worthy of the Lord. The key to David’s gathering so many materials for building the Temple, was his willingness to contribute so generously from his own personal wealth (I Chronicles 29:2-5). Seeing his example, the leaders in David’s army and government followed suit, as did the rest of Israel. In fact, no one was commanded to give. Everyone gave because they wanted to, freely and willingly (29:6,9). What motivated people to be so generous? Why is it that some Christians are generous today while others are not?
David seemed to hit upon the secret in his thanks given before the whole assembly. “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the One who is over all things. Riches and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything....Every-thing we have has come from you, and we give you only what you have already given us!” (29:10-14). It seems like the view we have of God is the biggest factor in how generous we are in our giving to Him. When we acknowledge God as the source of all we are and all we have, how can we not be sacrificial in return? As Job reminds us, “The Lord gives and the Lord can take away again” (1:20&21).
But, discipleship by it’s very definition, requires discipline. All of us have some areas of our lives that we have totally given to Jesus, and other areas of our lives in which we are still spiritual infants. David was no exception. For all of his outstanding characteristics, David appears to have been a lousy father. Apparently, that was simply not an area of his life David was all that concerned about. His handling of the rebellion of Absalom was one example and now the problems David has with another son, Adonijah, seem to indicate being a dad was an achilles heel for David. Perhaps, most indicting are these words: “Now his father, King David, had never disciplined him (Adonijah) at any time by asking, ‘What are you doing?’” (I Kings 1:6). There is a lesson for all of us. No matter how much money we accumulate, how import-ant of a position we’ve attained at work, or how many things we have come to possess, the measure of a person’s success can best be gauged by how we do at home. In our efforts to make a living or even serve the Lord, let us not neglect the one area in which we can leave our greatest legacy, our family.