What if you could feign sickness or busyness to avoid some responsibilities? (Our story is based on 2Sam11)
This is a familiar story, and you know the details, so I won’t bore you. It was the time of the year when kings temporarily stopped being kings to become terrorists and mass-murderers, sorry conquerors. Every real king woke up with a lump in his throat. He would see spring’s favourable weather as payback time for their enemies or expand their kingdom. Of course, King David was a serious-minded warrior king. After all, it’s on record that as a young man, he singlehandedly killed Goliath (1Sam17:49). So King David asked his generals to go to war with his troops. After all, Joab, his commander, was competent and results-oriented.
David himself was a man who had grown up as a humble and obedient servant of God. The KJV even records that “David inquired of the Lord” about 28 times. Imagine that God had now honoured His humble servant David, the man after God’s own heart (Acts13:22), with chieftaincy or kingship. But David was enjoying it so much that he also forgot Who owned the kingdom of Israel. A big-time mess was coming, and he could not hear the warning bells.
One day, around late afternoon, the king got up from a nap and moseyed up the stairs to the rooftop. People were returning home from their daily pursuits and generally getting their evening duties done. From here, he could see a peaceful city gradually winding down for evening worship, food and stories around various firesides. Then the king spied a luscious woman (someone’s wife) bathing and lecherously sent for her. She also rushed to answer the king’s call. Bathsheba’s beauty muted all the king’s warning bells! They connected. Each time she visited him, all admiration for this great, Godly king mingled with the dust under Bathsheba’s dirty slippers. Finally, she disrespectfully sent someone to him with a message, “I am pregnant.” When you rest while others are busy, you tend to get active when the others are relaxing, sometimes with despicable results. You know the rest. He had her husband killed legally and later married her. Sometimes even Christian leaders look for legit ways to cover up their wrong deeds. And, of course, Bathsheba will be one of those many wives who would begin a marriage with no respect for their husband. So reason with me a little…
If I made the rules, does that place me above them? Should I be a leader who leads others to face challenges or manages people to achieve goals? Which is more important, the money my fiancé has or his respect, trustworthiness and potential? Most importantly, does God see through my hidden agendas and will He reward me one day soon? Please, think carefully about what the Bible says in Eccl 12:14; Mark 4:22 and 8:17..
When you rest while others are busy, you tend to get active when the others are relaxing, sometimes with despicable results
– Nana Amoah
Earthly Living in Heavenly Anticipation 
A familiar but sad narrative, succinctly summarized – resting while others are busy will generally lead to unwise activities that offer little value. However, when leaders rest while those being led offer their trust and respect to them, that can be catastrophic … as the case in this narrative. Thank God for His mercy.
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Thank you Denis. We have to really make hay while the sun is shining; work for the night is coming. Definitely, the devil found work for an idle hand there. The thought of being responsible to the led hmmmmm, how many leaders miss out and mess up on that.
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We are not above the rules we make, we rather should be good examples for people to follow.
Leaders should help others overcome their challenges but not to exploit them to their own advantage
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Thank you Ophelia. There was this chorus of a song when I was much younger. We used to chant thus, “… like father, like son; like father, like son; do what I say; not what I do; …” As an adult, I know that people learn from what their mentors do, more than what they say. This really applies to older siblings and friends, parents, teachers, virtually all influencers, and role models and mentors. We need to buckle up.
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Sad story always whenever recalled.
The opposite of the adage holds true.
“When you work while others are resting, you tend to get rest when the others are working.”
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Youre right Tonto. I believe youre referring to pressing on while others rest, burning the midnight oil, or in Longfellow’s words, “toiling upward in the night”. This means that you have done just like others but you keep on keeping on when others have stopped to rest. I dont think that was what the King David was doing here. The text suggests that even kings began to get busy aroung this time. He, however had arranged to relax and take time off. So while others were making good use of the daytime as it were, he was resting. So, yes indeed, “when you work while others are resting…” you can rest as they begin to get busy because you have gone way ahead of them. The case is different however, when one is not even active when others are. Because in that case, one is lagging behind even those who are working normally without adding the extra you are referring to. We have to make hay while the sun shines before we can even think of resting when others are working. Hope this clarifies it a bit more.
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