Cell phones are wonderful. I remember the early days when my father brought home this massive black leather bag that was called a "bag phone" and we were in awe. A few years later I was heading to college and got my very own cellular phone, a Motorola flip phone, and I was sure that I would be the coolest kid on campus because I wouldn't have to use the antiquated dorm phone. A few years later I got a phone that could take pictures, and that was the coolest thing I had ever seen. At that point I could take a grainy picture and save it on my phone. Fast forward to text messages. These things are wonderful. I can send my wife a quick note to say "I love you" and it saves me the $1.79 that Hallmark would have charged me for the same words. I can list out some grocery items and take a picture (they are much clearer now, that on the early phones) to double check with my wife that I got the right item. Cell phones are a wonderful invention...except when they make you look dumb. Specialty ringers are always fun, but when John Phillips Sousa, a cartoon character, or the theme song to Star Wars appears at full volume in the middle of a wedding, funeral, or church service, you are made to look like the fool. Even worse than specialty ringers, however, are the wrong destination text messages.
Let's say I decide to utilize my $1.79 Hallmark savings and send my wife a lovely little "I love you" message early in the afternoon when she least expects it. So, on my touchscreen phone I open a new text message, say 'I love you' and then head to my contacts list where I see...Josh, Joyce, Judy, Julie, Justin...I tap on 'Julie' and send my personal Hallmark-ish message. Expecting to receive a message back about how sweet I am, I see that I receive a text message from a very confused Justin. I am guilty of the wrong destination text message. I try to laugh my way out of it, but it makes me think just how many messages I have sent to the wrong person by not double-checking before I pressed 'send'.
I worked through 1 Samuel 11 this morning, and I noticed something interesting. This is the David and Bathsheba narrative, and throughout the chapter, David does a lot of sending and receiving text messages. Obviously not via text message on his cell phone, but verbally. He sends a servant to get information about Bathsheba (v.3); He sends messengers to go get Bathsheba (v. 4); He sends a message to Joab to send Uriah to David, and Joab sends Uriah to David (v.6); a message is sent to David to inform him of Uriah's death (v.22); David sends for Bathsheba to come and be his wife (v.27).
David did a lot of sending and receiving text messages to set this whole ordeal up, and at the end of chapter 11 we read that all of these text messages displeased the Lord. Chapter 12 shares one text message to David. And it's from God Himself through the prophet Nathan. God sent the message to His desired recipient, and the message was loud and clear. God never has to double check before he hits the 'send' button, because the message is tailored specifically for you.
Today, when you send a text message, or make a call press send, thank the Lord that He sends clear messages to the precise recipient He means to.
awesome! and I remember that bag phone! :)
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