2 Samuel 6:12-22
12 Now King David was told, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. 17 They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. 20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” 21 David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel – I will celebrate before the LORD. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
Image, as they (whoever they is) say, is everything. This could not be truer than in the teenage years. Of course, as I look back at the photos of when I was a teenager, image appears to have been of least importance – especially my early teen years. Long (almost like capris), striped shorts that we affectionately called “jams”; braces with different color bands; and yes, even a little mullet. Pewk! What was I thinking? What were my parents thinking?
Keeping up with the latest fads – the lingo, the style, the technology – are vital for having the “right” image. Image can make you or break you socially. And apparently the idea of maintaining an image was very real in King David’s time. Notice the sarcastic comment by Michal in verse 20, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” She’s saying, “Hey Dave, you made a real fool out of yourself today. You didn’t act like a king should act. You didn’t look like a king should look.”
David’s response is classic and gives us great insight into the life of a worshipper of God. He basically says, in his best “School of Rock”-like attitude, “Step Off! If you’re gonna be hard-core, you gotta worship hard-core! You think that was crazy? Wait until I really get going! God is who I serve and He’s the only one I’m concerned with pleasing.”
No doubt David, as king, maintained an image for the people – a kingly image. After all, a nation wants their leader to represent them in a noble fashion, not like Larry the Cable Guy. But, to David maintaining an image before the people was inferior to maintaining a life of worship before God, no matter how foolish he may have looked to others.
What’s more important to you – How you look to your friends or your life before God? Are you willing to sacrifice your image, even for a moment, to please God?
Spend some time in prayer asking God to:
- Help you live a life that is more pleasing to Him.
- Maintain an image that represents Him to your peers.
- Give you boldness to live a life of “undignified” worship to Him.
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