There are two important principles to draw from our meditation today. The first is this: never consume on yourself what you are not willing to give to God. If you violate this principle, you have become a god unto yourself. Let’s break this down. After years of running for protection, God finally subdued David’s enemies. He had rest; and was even living in a paneled house. At that time the ark of God was being kept behind curtains. David felt it was out of place for him to live in a palace while there was no descent place to transact worship of Jehovah. I often get puzzled how many believers drive state-of-the-art cars and live in marbled homes and are members of churches that are struggling to have a roof on their heads! That, for me, is a misplaced priority. In Old Testament blueprint for sacrifice, the fat was meant for the Lord. While we don’t sacrifice rams anymore, the principle still holds. Ideally, the principal part of our wealth and fortune belongs to the Lord, ideally.

Those who want to please the Lord in all things must move from viewing things strictly in the light of what is good; they have to consider if they are God’s.

The other lesson from this passage is the reaction of Nathan. Without checking things up with God, the prophet gave a nod to David’s proposal to build a temple. I can relate with that as a Minister. It will be hard to turn down someone who would offer to build us new facilities for worship. It will appear too good to be refused. But that is exactly where the issue is: Good things may not always be God’s things. Those who want to please the Lord in all things must move from viewing things strictly in the light of what is good; they have to consider if they are God’s. It is possible that some good things are not God’s thing.