“When David and his men saw the ruins and realised what had happened to their families, [4] they wept until they could weep no more.” 1 Samuel 30:3-4 NLT
From 1 Samuel 27, we see how David, who had already been anointed to be king of Israel, ran to Gath, the hometown of Goliath that he slew. The irony.
Eventually, David found favour and was given Ziklag as a place of abode (1 Sam. 27:6). Then came a time for the Philistines to go to war with Israel, and David was told to stand down so he wouldn’t sell them out (1 Samuel 29:4), which was a wise decision.
Now, David returned to Ziklag after a three-day journey to find that the Amalekites had stolen from them.
When I read the anchor scripture above, the only thought that went through my mind was this:
David, in his bid to serve, left what was truly valuable to him unprotected, and he lost everything.
Think about that for a minute.
Out of serving the Philistines to fight Israel and protecting his valuable assets at Ziklag, it was obvious that the latter was of more value. This doesn’t mean that serving the Philistines was bad, but when David realised what was lost, he lost all strength.
In 21st-century English, his mental health was affected, and he burned out (verse 4).
How can we ensure that, in our bid to serve, we retain what is most valuable to us?
To retain what’s most valuable, first, identify what it is and let all decisions be influenced by it.
These core values are what will guide work and play. I never knew that family was a core value for me until I let work take over time with my wife, one year into my marriage. When I realised how things had deteriorated, I had to exit the business I was running and do things differently.
When you say No to something valuable to you, you stand the risk of losing it. If you place more value on your time than money, and you say yes to an offer with more money because of immediate needs, you will lose that time.
If you place value on time spent studying the scriptures and you say Yes to a project that will snuff that out, you will lose your study time.
What happens when you lose something of value over time? Your level of fulfilment drops. If not checkmated, you lose a part of yourself.
Don’t let this happen.
“Going forward, my core values will guide every decision I make.”
You can identify your core values by doing some self-reflection and checking the past few decisions you made. For each time you were presented with choices, which ones did you choose and why?
Write down your findings, and you’ll find a common thread through all of them. Those are your core values.
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