August 11, 2023

Acts 13: 22 “. . . he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” (NIV)

David was a sinner, but he didn’t allow himself to be defined by sin but by faithfulness.*

I can’t think of anything sweeter than to hear God call me a woman after his own heart. And why wouldn’t he? Sure, David was a good king, but when it comes to sin . . . well, I’m no worse than he was at any rate.

We might question God’s endorsement of David: Well, David may have done everything God wanted him to, but he also did some things God didn’t want him to. It may be a true statement but is it the point? Isn’t it just a distraction from the truth? David was a man after God’s own heart. God said it, and since no one else could see David’s heart, how can we question it? As humans, we can only see David’s actions. And it is human nature to judge others as harshly as possible, giving more weight to their bad deeds than the good ones.

Before forming a judgment of another person, we should remind ourselves that only God knows their heart. Their very human heart. A heart that often allows lust and greed and hatred to infiltrate it, but a heart that recognizes God’s love. I might look pretty good up against David’s sins, but can God testify that I have a heart like his? Only God knows for sure.

We have a tendency to judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions.*