David, et.al.: Leadership lessons
WHEN
Capitol Christian Leadership (CCL) officers confirmed the recommendation of Atty. Dave Aguila for me to deliver the spiritual guideline today, he further suggested that my topic dwell on David and Bathsheba. Suprisingly, President Leah and Pastor Jojo supported the move. I could hardly see then its sensible connection to the anniversary theme “Committed Righteous Leadership Towards a Godly Philippines” and the scriptural principle of “Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
Why? Because of Bathsheba. Mere mention of her name reminds me of what somebody quipped: “My wife is my strength, all other women are my weaknesses!” We would need an overwhelming spirituality with one like, Bathsheba.
For non-lawyers, that part of the title “et al” is abbreviation for Latin “et alii” (musculine), “et aliae” (feminine) or “et alia” (neutral), all meaning and others. Who are the others with David, who can impart lessons to our leaders in government, church, and society today? We shall soon find out.
First. David, the second King of Israel after his father Saul. He was the anointed leader between the time of Abraham and Jesus. One evening when David rose from his bed, he walked around the palace deck and, lo and behold, he spotted the very alluring Bathsheba bathing. He sent someone to inquire about her. He learned that the woman was the wife of Uriah, one of his elite soldiers in the battlefield. David asked his messengers to get her. She came to him and he slept with her. Consequently, she conceived and told David “I’m pregnant.”
Attempting to cover up the impregnation, David called for Uriah to go home, expecting the husband would lie with his wife. But Uriah slept, instead, at the entrance to the Palace guard. David ordered Uriah to stay one more day, ate and drank with him in the evening. Still, Uriah did not go down to his house to have sex with his wife. He just slept on his mat with all his master’s servants.
Frustrated, David commanded Joab, the immediate superior of Uriah: “Put Uriah in the frontline where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” And it happened. Uriah perished in battle.
After Bathsheba’s mourning, David got her as his wife. But what he did displeased the Lord. So the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke David. Nathan bravely but tactfully fulfilled his mission with a parable narrated to David. That parable reads:
“There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup, and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
“Now a traveller came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
“Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!”
What are the relevant lessons we can gain from the story of David, Uriah, and Nathan?
Foremost, we can learn from David’s roller-coaster life. David started as a shepherd boy who became a giant killer of Goliath. He came to be the greatest, most just king of Israel. He led in successful battles, united and inspired his people. Under him, Israel’s kingdom grew from tribal independence to centralized government, from leadership of judges to monarchy, from decentralized worship to worship in Jerusalem. Among the strong Bible personalities, he is top in the totem pole. These are his superior positive credentials.
But David had a wicked, negative side. At one time he was a cruel leader, adulterer, and murderer. He could lead a nation but not his own children. He failed to discipline his sons. When his eldest son Ammon raped his half-sister Tamar, David did not punish Ammon. When his son Absalom rebelled against him, David fled. His poor parenting almost eclipsed his epic accomplishments. Alas, the man of steel had feet of clay! It is probably because of fathers like him that the saying evolved: “No amount of success can compensate for failure in the home.” Walang tagumpay na makapapalit sa kabiguan sa tahanan. Obviously, David’s split character is seen in many government and private circles around the world.
Five years ago, when I spoke at the Kapihan here at Club Filipino, I pointed out the temptations of leaders. They come in threes or fours. One of them can cause a downfall. They are – hold your breath – AAA (attraction to women, accumulation of wealth, adulation), BBBB (beauty, bucks, billion, bazooka), CCC (chicks, cash, castle), DDD (dolls, dollars, dominion), FFF (female, finance, fame), GGGG (girls, gold, greed, and glory), MMM (maid, money, might) and PPP (pulchritude, power, possessions) or prinsesa, poder, at pera. I can go on with the acronyms but I’ve made my point clear – David fell from the grace of God because of adultery, murder, and abuse of his power, including obstruction of justice.
What have we seen in the PDAF and those who reportedly profited from it? The love of money! Its misuse by those who are not supposed to have it! The Supreme Court had declared on November 19, 2013, the PDAF unconstitutional. But as we keep watch, the events since then tell us the people concerned never learned the lessons. Congress is about to pass the 2019 Budget bill with both the House and Senate accusing each other, along with the budget secretary, of pork insertions. Unfairly, they are passing the responsibility to the President for a line vëto.
One bane of society and government is “passing the buck” or covering up and sacrificing somebody as a scapegoat. It happened before, it’s happening now. STOP IT!
Despite his human faults, David had also some redeeming values. At his lowest ebb, he showed great spiritual strength. When confronted by God’s prophet Nathan about his adultery and murder, he readily owned up to them, without ifs and buts. “I have sinned against the Lord,” he admitted, instead of passing the blame to temptation, as Adam did. David did not think like a politician that “it’s not whether you win or lose but how you place the blame,” as a humorist puts it.
David also acknowledged that he held power only by the grace of God. After his confession and repentance, he struggled through the consequences of his sins, picked up the pieces of his life, and later returned to his position as king. He turned merciful and generous as he returned to Jerusalem. His fairness set a pattern for good government.