2 Samuel 16-18

"As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul's family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king's officials with stones, through all the troops and the special guard were on David's right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, 'Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. the LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood!'

Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, 'Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.'

But the king said, 'What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, 'Curse David,' who can ask, 'Why do you do this?'"

Reading the account of how David responded to Shimei's lies truly humbled me this morning. Any way I look at it, if I was in David's position, I would be way too proud to respond the way he did.

David was a shepherd, and now he is king. He knew that it was God and God alone that blessed him. David had a true heart of humility. But how often do we, after God has blessed us (good job, good relationship, etc.) take that blessing and make it a source of our pride? We talked about this before how it is easier for us to talk to other people when we are doing well in the eyes of the world. Because we feel as though we have some authority. We enjoy thinking that we are better. It's our nature. That's why I think we are so quick to judge others (isn't it funny how we often judge the pride of others, while we suffer from the same exact thing?). We so often take God's blessing and make it a source of our confidence.

Let's ask God for a heart of humility this day. We are always humbled when God reminds us of who he is. David knew that God is sovereign in all things. This made him humble. To him, God was his confidence. He did not dare judge others or think himself better than them. His humility was such that it caused him to love those that were out to kill him (Saul and his son Absalom).

And let's, also, remember that humility does not make us pathetic. Just as God brought David from being a lowly shepherd to a highly respected king of Israel, if we humble ourselves before God and others, God can accomplish great things in our lives:)