By Not Known
It’s sometimes said that one of life’s great cruelties is to be born short. There are
greater numbers of tall people in the higher ranks of political and corporate life.
And in an added cruelty, those few extra kilos look worse on a less-tall person.
Israel’s first king was the tallest man of his day. That earned him the label ‘an
impressive young man‘ (1 Sam 9:2; 10:23). There’s a suggestion there that this
great height qualified him well to be king. (It is ironical that he came from the
smallest tribe – 9:21).
Saul’s height was not matched by a tall heart. When he became king he was
endowed with God’s Spirit. He made a goad start with a stunning victory that he
ascribed to the Lord (11:13). A tall flaw soon showed.
Before Saul became king he learned to wait for God’s timing (9: 13, 19; 10: 8). This
waiting was a lesson as to who was in charge. Saul was to be king, but it was
kingship on God’s terms. Tragically, Saul forgot this lesson. He asserted his timing
over God’s {13: 9-10). He put his plans ahead of God’s word (15: 1 -26). The result
was to lose his kingdom (13:13-14; 15:26-28). As Saul’s later rages and plots
against David show, his heart was greatly disordered.
Look at who replaced Saul. David was a handsome man (16: 12). We don’t know his
height but we do know his heart (13:14; 16:7). For all his many faults David was a
man whose heart belonged to God. As his psalms show, he loved God and desire
him greatly. When he sinned greatly, his heart burst forth in a great prayer of
confession rather than in a Saul-like denial (2 Sam 11 -12; Ps 51 ).
God’s wisdom urges us to watch our heart, for it is the wellspring of life (Prov
4:23). Likewise Jesus urges great attention to our inner states (eg, Mk 7: 1-23).
What goes on in our inside is basic to who we are, for our outside reflects our
inside.
Zacchaeus was a short man with a big heart (Luk 19:1- 9). He was tall enough
inwardly to commit himself to Jesus at personal cost and thus to show that he was
a true son of Abraham.
In short, it’s better to be a short person with a big heart than a tall person with a
short heart.
How tall are you?