| Cross Words: Outside Looking In |
Richard Prow ~ rpcrosswords@gmail.com
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Being on the outside looking in can be a valuable position sometimes. One has a better vantage point with which to see an entire area. From a distance there is the feeling of security that comes from being outside the fray. And of course if you’re not in the picture you can’t be held responsible for what takes place inside the frame.
Being on the outside looking in can also be a dangerous position at times. One can become so engrossed inspecting what others are doing that they miss what’s going on around them. Also if you’re on the outside you could be missing out on something beneficial happening from within. And finally, spending time critiquing others from a distance can allow someone to presume that they are on a higher level than those inside their viewfinder.
King David had the world at his feet. Literally. With the exception of God’s temple, everything he wanted built was constructed. All the money he and his family would ever need was tucked away securely. Any woman he wanted was his for the asking - even the beautiful Bathsheba, who was at the time married. His palaces were strategically located on the highest hills so that not only did he control a great empire but he could oversee it as well.
King David could clearly see everything going on around him, yet his vision for his own life was quite clouded. While David ruled over a great number of people, ultimately deciding their fate, he could not rule himself. His lust for a married woman drove him to lie and eventually murder. And he thought he got away with it. The man who judged a nation thought he was outside the parameters of the same judgement he passed on to others.
If you remember the story though, you know David did not get away with his indiscretion. The prophet Nathan received knowledge directly from God about David’s promiscuity. And Nathan confronted David causing him to admit his sins and seek forgiveness. Even though David’s vision for others’ lives was perfect, he couldn’t see his own reflection in the mirror.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matt. 7:3-5).
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