“The Trouble with Kings, Part 3: The Rise of David” by the Rev. Dr. Don Wahlig, June 23, 2024, Year B / Pentecost 5 (Texts from Proper 11) – 2 Samuel 7:1-19 • Psalm 89:20-37

THEME:  The power of a divinely-called leader comes from God, who blesses the use of power for the well-being of people, and punishes the misuse of power.

Do any of you like to read biographies?

I do, too. Lately, I have been reading some good ones by David McCulloch.  Do you know him?

I started with his book 1776. Then I read his biography of John Adams. Both are remarkably good. Just now, I am finishing his biography of Harry Truman. It may be the best one yet.

You will remember that Truman was Franklin Roosevelt’s choice for vice president for FDR’s third term. When Roosevelt died just 3 months after the inauguration, Truman became president.

Truman was a humble farmer’s son from Missouri.  He never went to college, but he loved to read, including biographies and especially the Bible. Faith was important to him, and to his whole family. He once said, “I am a Baptist because I think that sect gives the common man the shortest and most direct approach to God." We Presbyterians would beg to differ, of course.

Truman was pushed by his friends to run for public office, even though he was one of the least likely politicians of his age. He was not a great orator.  Nor did he have a commanding presence or magnetic personality.  What he did have was leadership skill, and an extraordinary ability to relate to ordinary people.  

He learned that as an officer in France in WWI. His troops loved him because he related to them in ways that other officers did not.  He could be a disciplinarian, but he far preferred to motivate them to get something done by making them want to do it. 

He brought that same humble leadership style to the White House.  To the surprise of many, he was remarkably good at getting things done.  He is the one who famously said the buck stops here.

Despite that, when he ran for his first full term as President in 1948, almost no one thought he could win. His appeal to the common people was clear, but the common wisdom among the press was that poor Harry had no chance. Until, that is, he actually won.

Truman’s very first speech to congress tells us about his view of leadership. He said, “At this moment, I have in my heart a prayer... I ask only to be a good and faithful servant of my Lord and my people.” Regardless of what we think of his accomplishments as a politician, in Harry Truman’s leadership, we can see and hear echoes of Israel’s most successful kings.

We began this series two weeks ago, by saying that God-honoring leadership is characterized by three traits:  faithfulness, humility, and courage.  Last week we concluded that those three things can only come from an authentic calling from God to be a servant leader.

Today, we are going to examine the power that a divinely-called servant leader is given. We will see what happens when a leader uses that power well, and when he or she uses it badly. To do that, we are going to focus on David. Because David gives us examples of both.

When we catch up with David, Saul has died and David has finally assumed the throne of Israel. After years of leaning on God as he leads his men from one battle to the next, David has consolidated his power and unified his kingdom, thanks to his faithfulness to God. Finally, he has both power and peace.

Now that he has some time to reflect, he looks around and he suddenly notices that he is living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God lies under a tent outside.  So, he hatches a plan to build a grand house for the ark. He runs it by Nathan, his prophet and advisor, and Nathan runs it by God.  But the answer that comes back is not what either of them expect. 

God tells David that he, God, will build David a house.  It will not be a physical building.  Instead, it will be a lineage, a dynasty. It will continue forever, first through David’s son Solomon, who will build God’s temple, and then with generations of descendants who will rule Israel.

Reading between the lines here, we detect that David’s power and position have begun to go to his head. What God promises to David is a subtle check on his hubris. David is acting out of an impulse of faithfulness, but he has presumed to be the primary actor, the one who will secure God’s future.

God is quick to turn that notion on its head. It is God who will secure David’s future. And not just through David, but through those who come after him, a lineage that extends to Jesus himself. In other words, it is not all about David. 

It is a reminder that real power comes exclusively from God.  The question is how will David use the power God has given him? God intends him to use it to help the people flourish.  God makes the leader thrive, because the leader makes the people thrive.

This is true today, too. And, it is as true in business as it is in government. We have all heard of the great resignation that followed COVID.  Employee resignations spiked to all-time highs. Millions more who stayed on the job engaged in what became known as quiet quitting, doing the bare minimum required.

Business leaders in all industries began scrambling to find ways to keep employees engaged. Some high-profile corporate leaders issued mandates to return to the office full-time. But it begs the question “Is the goal just to keep people around?”

Wiser, more far-sighted managers said no. They began shifting their focus to creating work environments where employees want to be because they thrive there.

So, what does it look like when someone is thriving at work? For starters, they feel vital. They have a sense of excitement about their work. They are enthusiastic about what they do and they enjoy it. They even have fun doing it.

Not only do they feel vital, but they also feel that they are growing, and not just as workers, but as human beings. They are developing new knowledge, new skills, and new capabilities.  These two feelings – vitality and growth – are what employees feel when they are flourishing at work. 

The benefits spill over into our personal lives, too. We are healthier.  We are happier. We have better work-life balance and a sense of personal satisfaction and pride that positively influences our relationships with family and friends. Thriving at work is indeed a very good thing.

More and more, it seems like the organizations that are helping employees thrive are also helping customers thrive. One of the companies best known for helping its employees flourish is a tech firm called Nvidia. Nvidia makes the chips that power Artificial Intelligence. Just this past week, Nvidia became the most valuable company in the world, exceeding both Microsoft and Apple.

Nvidia’s Human Resources policy says, “We focus on programs that look after you and your family's physical, emotional, and financial well-being.  We also work hard to anticipate what our employees will need at every stage of life—from dealing with student debt to caring for aging parents or building a family.” Wouldn’t you like to work for a company like that?

Helping people thrive is also what the best government leaders do. Our nation was founded on that very principle. As the Declaration of Independences says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

That is the same goal God gave David: to help God’s children thrive. So, how did David do? 

Like all of us, David was human. A little too human, as it turned out. For him, as for any leader, the danger comes when they think that their power originates within themselves, and is meant to benefit themselves. 

David used his power to seduce Bathsheba, the wife of one of his generals. When she became pregnant, David conspired to have her husband killed. Then he took Bathsheba to be his wife.

God was not happy, and he punished David severely. The child did not live and David’s family relationships became fraught and they fractured. The peace and power he so loved, and worked so hard to obtain, were disrupted because of his unfaithful use of power.

Friends, there is a lesson here for you and me.  Whether we know it or not, you and I are leaders, too. Jesus gave us the example to follow by helping the least and the lost. In giving us this example, he also gave us the power of setting an example for others to follow.

The question is are we using our power to help others thrive?

If we are, God will make us thrive.  May it be so.