Scripture
1 Chronicles 22:9-10, 19
9 Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’
19 Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built for the name of the LORD.”
Observation
David and his son could not be more different! David was the giant-slayer, Solomon was the wise scholar. David was a man of decisive action, Solomon was a man to stop and consider. David’s kingdom was defined by conflict and conquest, Solomon’s kingdom would be defined by rest and peace throughout the land.
But David doesn’t use these differences as an excuse to disrespect his son, or to try to force Solomon to be more like him. He calls out the differences and names them, then sets up Solomon to thrive as the next king, uniquely as God created him to be. In fact–David exerts his own influence while still on the throne to lend extra momentum that he knows Solomon will need, by stockpiling wealth and resources for the temple that Solomon will someday build.
Yet David also sees the accompanying weaknesses in Solomon. He sees the tendency toward inaction, and the necessity of Solomon not using his God-given personality as an excuse in life. David tells him “Arise! Build! Set your mind and heart to seek God!”
Application
It can be hard to relate to people who thing very differently from me, and who are built very differently than me. I see places where my own personality and strengths have led to good outcomes in my own life–so therefore, everyone else should do the same things…right?
But my natural strengths also define my natural weaknesses–and like David, I must be intentional to appreciate those who are strong in areas where I am not. They may not be called to fill the same role as me–just as I am probably not called to fill the same role as them. But the question is, do I value them enough to help set them up for success? Do I invest myself, and lend my own influence to give them the momentum they need in order to succeed?
…and when the moment is right, do I call them out in areas where they need to grow?
I’m grateful that God saw value in me, despite my own issues. I choose to see value in others today.
Prayer
God, thank you for seeing value in me! Help me to see the value that you have instilled in those around me, instead of merely wishing they were more like me. What a boring and ineffective world that would be! Help me today to speak encouragement when needed, and corrective inspiration when necessary. Help me today, to lend momentum to the success of someone around me.
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