The danger of shirking responsibility

CALL TO PRAYER

Date: 15/05/2021

By: Owusu Clifford S. 

Title – The danger of shirking responsibilities

1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem 2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. (2nd Samuel 11:1-2 NKJV).

There is a popular saying that ‘the devil finds work for the idle body’. There is a great deal of truth in this statement. However, I would say the devil finds work for the person who is not occupied with the things of God. In today’s Call to Prayer, we dissect the genesis of what transpired between King David and Bathsheba in 2nd Samuel chapters 11 and 12 and the consequences of being unoccupied with assigned responsibilities in the work of the kingdom of God.

In our verses for today, we can learn two important lessons. First, King David neglected his responsibility. 2nd Samuel 11:1 emphasises that the time David was in Jerusalem was the time the kings went out to battle. The reason why King David chose to remain in Jerusalem was not elaborated. Could it be that he had other things he was doing? Maybe or maybe not. But come to think of it, was there a greater responsibility of a king in those days than leading the people to war? 1st Samuel 8:20 reads, “that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles”. Therefore, going before the people in battle was one of the essential duties of the king, and it was for this reason that the people of Israel demanded an earthly king. So, ideally, David should have been at the battlefield, but he chose to remain in Jerusalem. Though, David delegated the responsibility to Joab, which was not wrong, however, his presence was needed.

Also, when King David neglected his duty, the devil got him occupied. The second verse of our key verses for today says that one evening as the king was walking on the top of his roof, he saw a woman bathing, and this was the beginning of the commission of one of the greatest sins in the Bible. Space will not permit me to go into greater detail about what happened subsequently, but I believe we all know the story. Now let us ponder on these questions. Would David have walked on the top of his roof had he been at the battlefield at that time? Would he have seen the nakedness of Bathsheba, gotten attracted, and committed adultery had he been at the battlefield? Would he have masterminded the murder of Uriah? Would he have received the judgment that was proclaimed against him as a result of that sin (2nd Samuel 12:10-12)?  

One moment of neglect of responsibility led to severe consequences for David. I pray that we would be enlightened to understand the importance of taking on tasks and duties in the kingdom of God and the need to perform them diligently so that we can reap all the blessings that come with the faithful discharge of our responsibilities.

Prayer: Let us pray and thank God for His word today. Also, let us pray and ask God for the forgiveness of our sins, for the times that we have neglected to carry out our assigned duties. Finally, let us pray for the grace and strength to diligently discharge our duties as faithful servants of God.

God bless you all!

https://wisdommedia.org/call-to-prayer/the-danger-of-shirking-responsibility/