Devotion on 2 Samuel 10: Pride Goes Before a Fall
The kingdom of Israel grew under the leadership of King David. When Nahun succeeded his late father Nahash as the king of the Ammonites, David remembered the favour Nahash showed him. He wanted to return the favour by sending a delegate to show sympathy. This is a nice gesture. This is the action of someone who is thankful. However, this graceful gesture was not reciprocated. They did not believe David could be genuinely kind to them. The Ammonites were wicked, distrusting, and thought the worst of David. They gave bad advice to the new king, and they humiliated David’s delegate. Their action started a war which they ended up losing.
2 Sam 10 saw David growing more powerful. Pride precedes a fall. We will find out more tomorrow.
Remain Thankful. David remembered how the late King Nahash was kind to him. We do not know when and how did Nahash showed kindness to David. We do see this continues in 2 Sam 17. David was running from his son Absalom, Shobi, son of Namash brought supplies in aid of David. David did not just “feel” thankful to the kindness of Nahash but he took action by sending a delegate.
Remain Kind. Sometimes, kindness is not accepted and reciprocated. What do we do? Do we then stop showing kindness? Do we stop helping others? By no means. We just must be more careful, be more discerning, and be smarter.
Remain Humble. God grants successes. When we are given successful in life, we give thanks to God, we stay humble, we continue to reply on God. Do not get arrogant. Do not let it get into our head. Remember, it is God, not us.
When your kindness is no appreciated? When you are thankful, what do you do? Do you just “feel” thankful? Or do you do something about it? What do you react to getting successes in life? Are you tempted to say or act in pride?
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