Stealing Hearts

So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. (2 Sam 14:6)

Playing second fiddle is a difficult thing. It's always been hard, and especially so now in a culture that tells us our worth is tied to how high we rise, how much power we wield, how much money we make.

I was meditating this morning on the story of Absalom's rebellion against David. There's a lot to this story, beginning with Absalom's (justifiable) anger over the rape of his sister. After murdering the perpetrator (his brother) he had to flee from Jerusalem. Eventually he was welcomed back to Jerusalem, but lived for two years shunned by David without any contact. Once their fellowship was (mostly) restored (1 Sam 14:23), Absalom set to work in turning the hearts of David's people against him.

His strategy was simple - find David's leadership weakness and exploit it. David wasn't good at hearing the disputes of people coming from other tribes. Absalom waited at the gate, heard these disputes, and lamented with them that the king didn't hear them. Over time Absalom began to have a following. He was helping people to see how he would be a better king than David. (Contrast this with David's respect for Saul's position, even though Saul was a crappy king)

Perhaps we're tempted to play the part of Absalom in our work places and churches. We don't have the position we think we should, so we set to work undermining the leaders who are in place over us. A couple of quick thoughts about this:

1. This betrays a lack of respect for authority. Ultimately all authority is put in place by God (see Romans 13). When we undermine authority, we do so usually believing we know better than God does. We don't say that, of course, but that is what's going on.

2. We often undermine authority under the guise of wishing things were better. But in reality, detracting from present leadership makes things worse. If we really wanted to make things better, we'd work with existing leaders to help them improve in the areas where they are weak, and by encouraging them in the areas where they are strong.

3. If we're not in a position of leadership, we should trust that God has us where he has us for a reason. He knows where we need to be in order to become the person we are destined to be. We may be in our present situation to learn humility, or simply to learn what it means to work hard without a whole lot of immediate gratification. Embrace the place God has you.

4. Generally, we're too cynical about other people. We have to ask: are my criticisms of my boss/leaders justified, or I am just being a cynic? Do I appreciate the challenges they face, or am I just being a nitpicker? One good indicator is to ask if we are able to point out any positives of those in authority over us. If we can't name any, it's likely we're not seeing things clearly.

Think about Paul's words - For there is no authority except from God, and those that have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (Romans 13:1-2).