Selfish Living
“May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as the Lord has sworn to him—to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.” - 2 Samuel 3:9-10
I noticed two very important things in this verse. First, Abner had loyalty to no one but himself. He switched loyalty from the house of Saul to David very quickly. His loyalty was based upon what was best for him, so it was not loyalty at all. It was all self-centered.
The second thing I noticed was Abner’s knowledge. He knew David had been chosen by the Lord. Even while he knew God had chosen David as the next king, he put Ishbosheth on the throne. He completely rebelled against the Lord, again all for selfish gain. He wanted power as Saul’s right-hand man; he would not have the same position with David, so he had to align himself with someone else.
As we look at Abner’s life, we are going to see there are serious consequences when people rebel against the Lord and live their lives for selfish gain. A person who cannot be trusted will come to a bad end and no one will be by their side. Because they showed no loyalty to others, no one will be loyal to them.
Learn a great lesson from Abner. We do not live our lives as little islands. The things we do and say affect other people. We can have a positive effect on the lives of the people around us, or a negative effect. The choices we make will determine how our lives impact others.
He who lives only for himself is truly dead to others.
~Publilius Syrus~
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