A man for all seasons

Many Christians like myself have often asked why, of all the great and distinguished men of God, God seemed to be uncommonly partial to David. After all, God Himself called him “a man after His own heart” despite all his well celebrated frailties, leaving little room to dispute God’s partiality. It’s worthy to note however that it wasn’t because David was in any way perfect. Phew! Good to know there’s still hope for me yet. At this point, I feel I must let you know that I do not in any way or form qualify to be called a Bible scholar. My inquisitive mind just gets the better of me at times, that’s all.

Many postulate that this special fondness is because of David’s big heart of continual gratitude to God and his humble mien. We know he was always quick to repent and he praised God almost unceasingly. This heart of gratitude aligns perfectly with my acronym, MINDS. This is an acronym of virtues and ideals which I formed and propagated, with the belief that they could go a long way in transforming our society if they become widely and genuinely adopted by us all.

The first letter, “M”, represents manners and the rest are “I” for integrity, “N” for neighbourly love, “D” for discipline and “S” for success. I believe any well-schooled primary school child will tell you, without thinking too hard, that in addition to prefixing your requests with the word “please” and saying “sorry” when you’re wrong or have hurt another, the other sacrosanct of good upbringing is to say those simple words, “thank you”. It’s not only men who love it when you express gratitude to them, God does too.

Or perhaps this partiality, which God sees no reason to disguise is because David had a burning desire to build a house for Him. This was a longing which didn’t appear to feature too high in the aspirations of David’s predecessors as leaders. Not even the beloved Moses. Was it David’s humility? As the Ark of the Covenant made its triumphant entry into Jerusalem, David danced like a man who had no cares in the world. Least of all, what his subjects thought of his very public display of gratitude to the almighty God. His attitude was a classic example of:

“Those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” God in His infinite mercy had taken him from the lowly occupation of being a mere shepherd boy and even being the least in his family, to the throne of his nation. What more could one ask for? But still, scripture tells us that of all the people on the face of the earth in Moses’s day, there was none as humble or as meek as Moses, so even this is not enough to explain David’s very special place in the heart of God. Don’t get me wrong. Each and every one of these attributes is truly excellent and is worthy of emulation but there must have been something extra, that stood him out amongst so many extraordinary leaders.

I’ve taken more than a cursory look into the life of this larger than life character and one thing I observed again and again was that David gave of himself completely. Every talent he was endowed with was nurtured and expended for the good of others, his nation and to the glory of God who gifted him with these talents in the first place. He used all his talents to the full and this pleased God immensely.

I daresay David went to his grave with no gift unutilized. How many of us could boast of this, if God was to call us up today? As a warrior he was not only great, but almost unrivalled. Where king Saul slayed a thousand, to his chagrin, the women sang that David killed ten thousand. As a fearless youth he defeated and killed the Israelites’ nemesis, Goliath, who nobody else dared to fight. Even when still a shepherd boy, he employed all inherent skills to excel.

As a prophet he was up there. We seldom think of David as a prophet but he was. Many of his Psalms were highly prophetic. As a poet, well, we need look no further than the Psalms, that wonderful book of prose, to see ample evidence of his gift with words. Furthermore, as a musician he was so skilled that when King Saul needed an able musician in the palace to temper his evil mood swings, he was the one sought out. His skill, talent and diligence literally made room for him and brought him before the king, just as the good book promises:” A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.”

As a man of uncanny faith, David trusted that God would certainly do what He said He would do. Hence why he repeatedly resisted the urge to kill Saul in order to accelerate his ascendancy to the throne, despite what appeared like numerous “God given” opportunities. This alone speaks volumes of self-discipline, one of my MINDS’ virtues. He saw no need to “help” God. The lesson I see here is; bide your time. Remain under tutelage and humble yourself to leadership until you’re truly ready to stand on your own. Combat every urge of over ambition, no matter how alluring.

Failure to do so has stunted and even spelt the end of many otherwise glorious destinies. Wait for your time. As a king, David’s nation reverend no one quite like they do him, till date. Amongst other things, he’s credited with having brought his people back to God. He also shaped his environment rather than allow the environment to shape him. Too many of us have acceded to the less than noble dictates of our environment; giving in to societal aberrations instead of marking society with our stamp of good character.

David was a man of tremendous integrity who acknowledged his mistakes and was ever ready to make amends. He exemplified uncommon neighbourly love and compassion when he insisted on sharing the spoils of war equally amongst the four hundred soldiers who fought to recover all they had lost at Ziklag, with the two hundred soldiers who were too feeble to complete the journey, let alone fight. Albeit, in spite of the legitimate protest of the former group.

A wise man once said, “there are those who go through life holding on to the sides”. David cannot be said to be such a man. He took risks, stared down both physical and mental adversaries and used everything he had at his disposal to overcome and succeed in his life assignment. He rose up to every occasion. The world currently finds itself in perilous times as the majority of citizens of just about every country, stare into the abyss of an uncertain future.

If we are to take a cue from David who for many years suffered hunger, deprivation and constant fear as he fled for his life in the wilderness, this is the time to dig in, discover and nurture latent talents while wisely developing new skills for this period characterised by a whole new set of “normal”. This is the time to position oneself as the man for this season. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once rightly noted: “Talent develops in quiet places. Character, in the full current of human life.” Like David, let every season bring out the best in you.

Changing the nation…one mind at a time.