Honouring the Lord

Deeply moved by the newspaper report, he started composing his own tribute: “Half a league, half a league, half a league onward, all in the valley of Death rode the six hundred.” Within an hour, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, finished his famous poem, Charge of the Light Brigade, honouring the British cavalry’s brave charge towards enemy fire in 1854.

We can understand why Lord Tennyson wanted to honour acts of sacrifice; King David, however, went one step further when the Philistines invaded Bethlehem. When setting up camp outside the city, David remarked how good the water was from Bethlehem’s well. Three of his soldiers overheard him and broke through the enemy lines to draw a cup of it for him.

When they gave the water to David, “he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the Lord” (2 Samuel 23:16). What was David thinking? For him, that cup of water had become priceless because the warriors had been prepared to sacrifice their lives for it (v. 17). Yet only One deserved such a precious gift. By pouring out the water as an offering, David honoured his men even more, devoting their heroism to God, rather than to himself.

We too, like David, can and should give our first place of honour to God. After all, He is worthy of the very best we can give. Chris Wale - Daily Bread