ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 PULELULU ‘EPELELI 1, 20226

1 SAMIUELA 18-20; Luke 11:9-13

God is the giver of good gifts. Jealousy over the gifts and successes of others never goes anywhere good.

Ko e ‘Otua, ko e tokotaha ia ‘oku ne foaki ‘a e ngaahi me’a’ofa lelei. ‘Oku ‘ikai ha iku’anga lelei ‘o ‘ete nofo ‘o meheka pe loto kovi ki he me’a’ofa mo e tu’umalie ‘a hoto kaunga’api.

God is the Creator of everything that exists. This includes the physical creation, which trumpets his glory and brings us such delight, as well as many nonphysical things that we depend on and celebrate. Beyond your physicality, God is the Creator of your mentality, personality, emotionality, and psychology. It is important to understand that God not only is the Creator of all things, but he also rules over how his creation is allocated. He dispenses the good gifts of his creation as he pleases and according to his divine plan. It is God who chooses a person's gifts and abilities. God allots these gifts and abilities for his glory, for the purpose of human thriving, and to advance his grand plan for his creation. A doctor with exquisite diagnostic skills has those skills not just because he studied hard and trained well, but because God gave him the set of gifts required to do his work. Picasso was working with God-given abilities. Mozart was employing God-allotted gifts.

When you are jealous of the gifts and successes of others, you're not just angry that you don't have what they have; you are angry with God. Jealousy questions the wisdom and goodness of God. Jealousy charges God with mistakenly giving to another what you should have. Jealous people claim to be smarter than God, thinking that they would have been better at managing creation's gifts. In 1 Samuel 18 and the chapters following, this is exactly where we find King Saul. God has rejected him as king, and David has been anointed as the next king of Israel. Because God calls David to be a warrior king, he empowers him with the gifts to be successful in battle. But Saul looks at David's success and is not thankful for God's loving protection of his people through David. No, Saul is consumed with jealousy, so much so that all he can think about is killing David.

David is not against Saul. In fact, he has been Saul's loyal servant. David is not in a contest with Saul; he is doing the work God has appointed him to do. Saul's murderous anger is not just against David; it is against his Lord. God, in his infinite wisdom and out of love for his people, chooses David as his instrument and gives him the power and ability to do his work. Jealousy rages against the wisdom and rule of God. It questions his wisdom and love. When you question God's wisdom and love, you don't go to him for help, because you've concluded he is not good. In choosing David, God is advancing his plan-not just for Israel, but for the whole world. The kingdom of David would never end, because out of him would come another King, Jesus. In David, God is working his saving plan, putting pieces in place that would lead to the final sacrifice for sins. What love! What wisdom! What grace!