Read: 2 Samuel 17-18 / Proverbs 28
Verses chosen for meditation: 2 Samuel 18:16-18
12 Samuel 18:16 Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them. 17 And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and raised over him a very great heap of stones. And all Israel fled every one to his own home. 18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar that is in the King's Valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom's monument to this day.
Reflect
At this point, readers will not be surprised that Absalom, when he was alive, built for himself a monument. Through his life, Absalom had shown himself to be a self-promoting, self-entitled scoundrel who would stoop at nothing to please his own flesh. This was a man who defiled his own father's concubines and even raised the sword against the one who raised him.
Hence when Absalom realised that he might not have a son to keep his name in remembrance, he built for himself a monument. With such a monument, he hoped that the people would remember his name in glory. The irony is that the people would definitely remember his name with or without the monument; but in shame rather than in glory.
Relate
Throughout history, we observe that only dictators build for themselves monuments. In the 1940s, Joseph Stalin held a competition for Soviet Union's best artists to submit designs for a personal monument. Otakar Svec won the competition and took five years to build the 17,000 ton statute of Stalin.
However, the building process was so stressful and depressing that both Otakar and his wife committed suicide. Ironically, the statue was only unveiled in May 1955, 2 years after Joseph Stalin died. The statue was physically impressive but reflects the ugly image of a ruthless and evil man who murdered many.
So why would people want to have their own monument built?Mostly because they wanted people to worship their name as the most powerful person in the country. They did not care if their deeds are righteous or evil. They just want people to remember them, to glorify them. Perhaps it stems from a very crooked sense of insecurity. Perhaps it stems from this dire need to worship the self. Absalom went by the same vein.
Most of us are no dictators or even come close to the character of Absalom. Most of us do not have the power and authority to build for ourselves monuments.
However many of us could have fallen to the temptation of self-worship or self promotion. For example, when we humble brag in the social media; it is a form of self promotion. When we put certain things in our lives (especially those that benefit us) as more important than our relationship with God; that is worship of the self. When we do things so as to look good in front of others; that is self-promotion. When we keep on wanting to be the centre of everyone's attention, while disregarding the feelings of others, that is a worship of the self.
The worship of self can be said to be the most self-deceptive of all sins. Why? Because when we worship ourself, we would not realise it. Otherwise, the worshipping of self is not there in the first place. We think that we are always right.
Hence, it takes others in our lives to point this out to us. It takes humility to accept that yes we have such a problem when it is being pointed out. Quite often, the problem is twofold. The people around us prefer to keep quiet and wait for others to say since it is not a "nice" thing to say. Or when it is being said, we cannot take what we think is humiliation.
This is what happened to Absalom. Not many around him dared to point out his sins and evil. In the end, he died horribly.
Today, let us be reminded that there is only One whom we worship. If there are people who love us enough to tell us of our sins, let us be humble to receive and praise God for this good friend or loved one in Jesus Christ. Let us also fix our eyes on Christ, so that like John the Baptist, we can keep telling ourselves: more of Christ, and less of us.
Rest
Lord my God, keep me from worshipping of the self. And if I am doing so, send me people who can knock some sense into me. Keep me humble and pure so that I can serve you in the fullness of Your perfect will. This I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Jason
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