He was clever, gifted and already famous. Still, he kept pointing the applause elsewhere.
David had plenty of opportunities to use his platform to bolster his reputation and fame in Israel. But he had no need to blow his own horn. He only wanted to brag about the God he loved.
Psalm 34 was written shortly after David escaped a very dangerous and humiliating situation. The introduction tells us exactly what was going on:
A Psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelek, who sent him away.
That little introduction certainly grabbed my attention. “Oh this is going to be good!”
David already had a reputation in Israel. People knew his name. They knew his exploits. They even sang songs about him. He was also a gifted songwriter, so he certainly had the ability to turn the whole episode into a brilliantly satirical account of how he outsmarted a king.
And really, pretending to be insane was a pretty brilliant bit of quick thinking.
David was trapped in a dangerous situation. He realized just how vulnerable he was, became afraid, and came up with a strategy. He changed his behaviour, pretended to be insane, scratched on the doors and let saliva run down his beard. The king wanted nothing to do with him and sent him away.
David could have written quite the song about that one.
He could have poked fun at the king. He could have celebrated his own cleverness. He could have made himself the hero of the story.
But he didn’t.
Instead, David wrote:
“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.”
— Psalm 34:19
That’s how David interpreted what had happened.
Yes, David’s reputation of thinking quick on his feet was well deserved. Yes, he had come up with a brilliant strategy. And no, this wasn’t the only time his keen mind helped him navigate an impossible situation.
But when David told the story, he didn’t point to himself.
He pointed to God.
Read through the Psalms and you’ll see this again and again. David certainly wasn’t shy about describing his troubles, his enemies or his fears. But neither was he particularly interested in building a monument to his own brilliance.
He kept turning the attention back to the Lord.
“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
— Psalm 34:4
David knew he was clever. Everyone else probably knew it too. He didn’t need to advertise it.
He lived with a keen awareness of God’s love for him. His identity wasn’t dependent on applause, accolades or people being impressed by his latest exploits.
David was a man after God’s own heart.
And ultimately, there was only One Person David wanted to please.
Maybe there’s something in that for those of us living in an age where we’re continually encouraged to build our platform, establish our reputation and make sure everybody knows what we’ve accomplished.
There’s nothing wrong with using the gifts, intelligence and abilities God has given us.
But when the story gets told, we still get to decide who the Hero is.
©2018 Katherine Walden
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