Many years ago, we lived in Colorado. The Rocky Mountains were able to be seen as far as eye could see to the north and to the south. The climate was also amazing with snow one day and then 50-degree days could follow that next day or the whole week following the snowstorm. Colorado was a beautiful place to live.
One snowstorm that came through left about 8 to 10 inches on our driveway and sidewalks. All of our children were quite young, so snow removal was solely up to me. I got to the end of the driveway shoveling snow and felt a small tweak in my lower back. I literally only had one more shovel of snow to move, so I persevered. It was with that last shovel of snow that excruciating pain went straight down my legs. I went down to the ground and could not put pressure on my legs to stand because of the pain. My wife came outside and offered me a four-wheel dolly to get on and she would push me up the driveway, but I couldn’t get on the thing. I ended up slowly crawling up the driveway on my hands and knees. After a while, I realized a doctor visit was needed. I was diagnosed with a pulled muscle, and it was recommended to me that I needed to lose weight and get stronger. So as a result, I started exercising, losing weight, and building muscle. I proceeded to lose weight and get in better shape; however, the problem would reoccur multiple times in the years to come. We eventually moved to Marshfield, WI and then another “pulled muscle episode” happened. My new doctor told me this was not a pulled muscle. He gave me an MRI and discovered I had two bulging discs and one herniated disc in my spine. I was then diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and was given a different treatment plan. I needed to be correctly diagnosed and I needed to do what was necessary to remove things that hindered me from functioning at my best.
Correctly diagnosing the barricades to thankfulness can open the passage to a thankful heart. What is hindering your ability to function in the realm of thankfulness? It is so helpful when we look to eliminate or walk past those things that hinder thankfulness! There are many things we could study on this subject. Grief, sickness, and habitual sin will all have an impact on one’s thankfulness. However, this week, we will only look at one choice that hinders our thankfulness.
LIFTING UP SELF – I Samuel 25:2-12
This is a time of celebration and prosperity for Nabal. It was shearing time. It would be at this time that he would have abundance of provisions. David had been guarding Nabal’s livestock and property out in the fields. David’s men approach Nabal to be paid for their services, and Nabal now acts as though he knew nothing of the arrangement (v. 10-11).
Look at how the Bible describes Nabal.
v. 2 – “the man was very great” refers to this fact: Nabal is very wealthy. The definition of this Greek word for “great” is great in number.
v. 3 – “Churlish” means severe. The Greek word for “churlish” is defined as severe, stubborn, intense. The NKJV, NASB, and ESV all translate this as “harsh” and the ESV adds to that with “badly behaved.”
v. 3 - “evil in his doings”
v. 3 – “house of Caleb” means Nabal inherited Caleb’s property. Caleb was of the tribe of Judah. Clearly, godly ancestors do not guarantee godly offspring. Also, wealthy ancestors do not guarantee godly offspring.
v. 25 – “Nabal is his name” - Nabal’s name means fool.
We can find further understanding of Nabal’s character from the Septuagint. The Septuagint is the Hebrew Bible translated into Greek by about 70 Jewish scholars during the third and second centuries BC (in Alexandria, Egypt). Since Israel had been under Greece’s authority for several centuries, the Greek language had become a more common language of the average person. So, a Greek translation of the Bible would make sense to reach those speaking the common language of the day. The Septuagint reads I Samuel 25:3 this way, “He was a dogged man, of a currish disposition, surly and snappish, and always snarling.” Here is a man that could only think of himself…and he was quite miserable!
Two men, returning from a hunt, bagged a good-sized turkey and a buzzard to divide between them. One of the men said, “I will take the turkey, and you can take the buzzard; or else you can take the buzzard, and I will take the turkey.” The other man did not like the fact that he did not have a “take the turkey” option offered to him!
The phrase “looking out for number one” is a good phrase when the “number one” refers to the Lord! Do we realize all the consequences to selfishness?
Proverbs 23:21 speaks of poverty
Galatians 5:16,17 speaks of a loss of relationship with God
Eccl. 2:10-11 speaks of selfish gain as vanity
Luke 12:16-21 speaks of immediate and eternal consequences
And in I Samuel 25 Nabal also shows us that such self-centeredness yields thanklessness! And when that happens, we are then disobedient (Col. 3:15), wayward (out of God’s will – I Thess. 5:18) and headed for chastening (Heb. 12:5-8).
So, what do I do about this selfishness?
1. Put Christ First – Matt. 6:33; Col. 3:17, 23
Show your family that when it comes to church attendance, personal prayer life, corporate prayer life, Bible memory, a genuine relationship with God, and a daily life that honors God …show them that God comes first. Teach them that in my life I will choose God before sports…I will choose God before work…I even choose God before family and friends. Lead by example. Put God first.
2. Seek the Good of Others! – I Cor. 10:24
After God clearly has first place, we need to pursue putting others before our own wants and desires (Phil. 2:3). Look for these opportunities. The average person considers themselves pretty selfless and in the best light. So, ask yourself this question, “Do I put God first and worship Him with the church, but then go out to lunch and let the door slam in the face of a mom with 3 young children, treat the waitress horribly, and make fun of the people at church while talking with a mouth full of half chewed food at the table — all while scheming a way for someone else to pay for the meal?” We should also note that selfishness doesn’t always look evil. We can accomplish good things with selfish motives — and yet, even in that light, selfishness is still sinful. Selfishness has huge impact on sinful choices.
“The DNA of sin is selfishness. Sin inserts me into the middle of my universe; the one place reserved for God and God alone. Sin reduces my field of concern down to my wants, my needs, and my feelings. Sin really does make it all about me.”
Dangerous Calling, Crossway, 2012, p.98.
We often want to just say that we put others first, but what does the evidence of the last month of our own life actually say?
3. Manifest love – Matt. 5:44; I Cor. 13:5
Recognize that such a love is only possible through the enabling of the Holy Spirit of God. Teach your children to love their enemies, to not be easily angered, and to think the best of others — by living it yourself.
The great example of manifesting a selfless love is Jesus Christ. He came from the perfections of heaven. He lived a life without sin (Heb. 4:15). He performed many miracles that completely changed people’s lives (healing the woman with the issue of blood, making the lame to walk again, giving the blind sight, and even raising Lazarus from the dead). Yet, other religious people who claimed to worship the same God became envious of Jesus. Their own selfishness blinded them to the truth standing in front of them. They eventually schemed and paid 30 pieces of silver to have Jesus arrested. They persuaded the mobs to turn on Jesus. They beat Jesus up until he was whipped, bloodied, and humiliated. He was nailed to two pieces of wood and placed up high for all to see. He died. He was buried. Jesus did all of this when He had the power to destroy them all. Why? Selfless love. Jesus endured all of this so that He might take the punishment for all the world’s sin on Himself. He, deserving no condemnation, took our judgment in our place! Then Jesus Christ rose from the dead and conquered sin, death, and hell — all for you … and for me. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus makes it possible for all mankind to receive forgiveness of sin and a home in heaven…but we must come to Jesus. This love took Jesus out of His comfort zones and into ultimate sacrifice for those who have, do, and will treat Him badly. This is what Jesus Christ did for me and you. What a gift! This is sacrifice. This is selflessness. This is love.
We begin life acting as though everything is all about “me.” Unfortunately, some people do not mature past that belief. Our own selfishness is robbing us of thankfulness. Confess and repent of selfishness. Ask the Lord to help you uproot the weed of selfishness out of your own life!