What Did I Do?

The Lord’s church sometimes acts much like these men. When we see something happen that we do not like, we tend to blame the person in charge, even though they might not have any control over the situation. Following this line of reasoning, we should always blame the treasurer if the church does not meet the budget – even if we have not been giving as we should. We should blame the Bible Class teachers when our children are not learning – even though we remain too busy to teach them ourselves. We really should be angry with the elders when our youth do not have “adequate” entertainment – even though we have not invited them over to our house yet. We ought to fire the preacher when attendance has not grown – even though we have never participated in a campaign or visitation program. We can blame a lot of people for a lot of things, but we first should consider our own part.

David was distressed because of the pressure that the people put on him, but he knew how to deal with the stress. David went to the Lord. When those in leadership positions forget whom they are serving, they may give in to the murmuring of the crowd, but spiritual leaders will follow the example of David and pray to God concerning the matter. David was under stress because of the responsibility that had been given, but he did not let stress keep him from his duty. Instead, David relied on God to help him with decisions and dealing with the people. Let all leaders in the church today do the same.

Brethren, let us make up our minds not to act as the men of David at Ziklag, rather let us support our leaders and follow them as they follow God and trust in Him no matter what may lie ahead. Let all leaders follow the example of David and look to God for guidance instead of relying on self and becoming discouraged. If all would dedicate themselves to developing these attitudes, the work of the church would prosper and the gospel would be spread throughout the world. Is that not reason enough? “What did I do?” is a question often asked by leaders in the Lord’s church. Maybe it is time that more members started questioning their own behavior pertaining to church work by asking the same question, “What did I do?”