Thursday, February 10, 2011

That Green Thing

1 Samuel 18:5, 28
“Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul’s officers as well. When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.”

My kids love Veggietales. I so-like it too! How they reinvent and make relevant biblical stories for their young market is refreshingly interesting. Imagine vegetables conveying godly values! Why not :> Added fascination is their fantastic music, especially the closing Silly Songs.  My kids are playing one now for the nth time!   One of the three dvd copies we owned is the episode ‘The Ballad of Little Joe’. It’s their cowboy version of the biblical Joseph. One scene shows Pa Grape surprising the green cucumber celebrant with a colorful vest that made his brothers¸ played by the French Peas, jealous of him. Why would they not when all ten of them got birthday mittens instead, which they concluded as ‘we are not special’.  Their jealousy turns to spite and the rest is history.

 
Wikipedia refers jealousy to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, such as a relationship, friendship, or love. Add ‘crown’ to that list and it would completely paint King Saul starting this chapter. It corrupted his thoughts and caused him to resent every good thing David did. When they retuned from battle, he heard taunts and forgot the triumph. When David served him with harp music, he hurled a spear and disregarded the song. Everybody loved his young recruit but him. And because being jealous leads to being zealous, his unholy thoughts bred unrighteous tactics. Twice did he try to pin David to the wall while serving him, and twice did he offer his own daughters in marriage to be a snare to this people’s champ. But the Lord was with David. What others intended for harm, God turned it for good. Saul pushed David to a lot other battles to fall by the hands of the enemies, but it all the more increased his success rate, making him more loved by the people. Saul planned his marriage with Michal to his advantage, but she’ll turn out to be the one helping David escape with his life on the next chapter. Nobody’s losing here but Saul. He fed this green-eyed monster and it’s now eating him up.  

Pa Grape celebrated Little Joe’s uniqueness. That he’s special. God brags about that too! He designed us differently for He greatly rejoice in diversity. What we have is uniquely ours, and what He favors others is His prerogative. When He decides to give, no one can hinder. What He takes away, we cannot keep. Jealousy roots from discontent, whose surname is pride. Saul could have thanked God he still can enjoy a few more years as king. Jealousy slays the simple. When we disregard His grace, we are likely to dig our own graves. Take heed.
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That Green Thing

1 Samuel 18:5, 28
“Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul’s officers as well. When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.”

My kids love Veggietales. I so-like it too! How they reinvent and make relevant biblical stories for their young market is refreshingly interesting. Imagine vegetables conveying godly values! Why not :> Added fascination is their fantastic music, especially the closing Silly Songs.  My kids are playing one now for the nth time!   One of the three dvd copies we owned is the episode ‘The Ballad of Little Joe’. It’s their cowboy version of the biblical Joseph. One scene shows Pa Grape surprising the green cucumber celebrant with a colorful vest that made his brothers¸ played by the French Peas, jealous of him. Why would they not when all ten of them got birthday mittens instead, which they concluded as ‘we are not special’.  Their jealousy turns to spite and the rest is history.

 
Wikipedia refers jealousy to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, such as a relationship, friendship, or love. Add ‘crown’ to that list and it would completely paint King Saul starting this chapter. It corrupted his thoughts and caused him to resent every good thing David did. When they retuned from battle, he heard taunts and forgot the triumph. When David served him with harp music, he hurled a spear and disregarded the song. Everybody loved his young recruit but him. And because being jealous leads to being zealous, his unholy thoughts bred unrighteous tactics. Twice did he try to pin David to the wall while serving him, and twice did he offer his own daughters in marriage to be a snare to this people’s champ. But the Lord was with David. What others intended for harm, God turned it for good. Saul pushed David to a lot other battles to fall by the hands of the enemies, but it all the more increased his success rate, making him more loved by the people. Saul planned his marriage with Michal to his advantage, but she’ll turn out to be the one helping David escape with his life on the next chapter. Nobody’s losing here but Saul. He fed this green-eyed monster and it’s now eating him up.  

Pa Grape celebrated Little Joe’s uniqueness. That he’s special. God brags about that too! He designed us differently for He greatly rejoice in diversity. What we have is uniquely ours, and what He favors others is His prerogative. When He decides to give, no one can hinder. What He takes away, we cannot keep. Jealousy roots from discontent, whose surname is pride. Saul could have thanked God he still can enjoy a few more years as king. Jealousy slays the simple. When we disregard His grace, we are likely to dig our own graves. Take heed.