I have pictures on one of my shelves at home. The sampling of portraits represents my family and is somewhat tastefully arranged. But this wasn’t always the case. I remember buying the perfect frame for a picture of me as a young child. The frame is oval, brushed silver and has two decorative knobs at the bottom for feet. At least that’s the way it was designed.
Several years after putting my picture in it and during one of my semi-annual dusting sprees, I noticed the frame was upside-down. The “feet” were at the top and had been since the day I bought it. When I asked why no one had pointed out that the knobs in this position made me look like a rabbit with ears, I was told “we just thought you wanted it that way.” Really? Unfortunately this is not the only instance of doing something the wrong way because I didn’t read the instructions or because I was blissfully unaware of how something was supposed to be done. King David found himself in a similar situation, but the result wasn’t so blissful. His was a deadly mistake.
There is a hand-written note taped above my computer that reads “Do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason!” If we add “and in the right way”, we see what happened because David opted for convenience, and didn’t consult God’s instruction manual. The ark of God, captured during battle and later returned to Israel by the Philistines, was not in Jerusalem where it should have been and David wanted to bring it back. It seemed to be the right time to move this portable dwelling place for God’s Presence among His people. David’s desire was to see people worshipping with the ark of God where it should be in the newly-built tabernacle he had just completed.
First Chronicles 13 tells us that David evidently called a meeting, got a consensus from the people, and then decided that if the Philistines could transport the ark on a cart pulled by oxen, he could too. God had already given instructions for moving the ark, but in his haste, David decided he knew how to get the job done. He may have been doing the right thing at the right time and for the right reason, but he failed miserably in the way he went about it. Just ask Uzza. He also thought he was doing the right thing when he reached out to keep the ark from falling off the cart and he paid with his life. When the ark was finally moved three months later, David had done his homework and admitted that the disaster of the first attempt was because they weren’t doing it the right way (1 Chronicles 15:13).
I wonder how often we are involved in things that we think are pleasing to the Lord because they seem to be the right thing to do. Here is a check-list: Does God want me involved in this? Is the timing right for both me and for God? And is my heart right? In other words, why am I doing what I’m doing? (It’s always good to remember that “wood, hay and stubble” warning in 1 Corinthians 3:12.) We may be able to answer an emphatic “yes” to all of the above, but still stumble in the execution. Am I doing things the way God wants them done. Have I consulted Him?
The Bible is God’s instruction manual for our lives. It’s up to us to read it and obey.