What kind of images come...
Illustration
What kind of images come to mind when we hear the word "king" or think about the lives of royalty? Luxury lifestyles, fabulous wealth, political power, commanding presence or personalities, servants to attend to every need and want: probably these images and others come readily to mind, based on what we have read or seen about royal persons from the ancient past as well as in more recent times.
When David was anointed King, his role was not what we might imagine it to be. David was to be the "shepherd of God's people." Consider some of the job duties of a shepherd: a shepherd must protect and guard the sheep, even at his own personal risk; a shepherd routinely gets dirty and smelly in pursuit of his caretaking activities; a shepherd must be patient and gentle in dealing with the needs of the flock; a shepherd must have good coping skills for handling unpredictable situations when sheep are excited or frightened, or even following a leader in the wrong direction.
Our contemporary definitions of "king" and "shepherd" are very different; yet for God's people, the role of a king was to assume the duties of a shepherd toward all the persons assigned to his care. What difference might it make in our world today if more of our leaders were willing to do the work of shepherds rather than insist on the fringe benefits of royalty?
-- Parker
When David was anointed King, his role was not what we might imagine it to be. David was to be the "shepherd of God's people." Consider some of the job duties of a shepherd: a shepherd must protect and guard the sheep, even at his own personal risk; a shepherd routinely gets dirty and smelly in pursuit of his caretaking activities; a shepherd must be patient and gentle in dealing with the needs of the flock; a shepherd must have good coping skills for handling unpredictable situations when sheep are excited or frightened, or even following a leader in the wrong direction.
Our contemporary definitions of "king" and "shepherd" are very different; yet for God's people, the role of a king was to assume the duties of a shepherd toward all the persons assigned to his care. What difference might it make in our world today if more of our leaders were willing to do the work of shepherds rather than insist on the fringe benefits of royalty?
-- Parker
