The Unsatisfying and False Allure of Self-Accomplishment

"So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, ‘Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.’”

2 Samuel 24:2

Pride can be defined as a display of disdainful behavior, or as a personal quality that leads one to perform ostentatious acts. This was evident in King Nebuchadnezzar, who surveyed the kingdom of Babylon one day and internally surmised that he was largely, if not solely, responsible for the wealth, prosperity, military victories, and expansion of the kingdom he oversaw (Daniel 4:28-30). This was evident in Satan, who believed he was worthy and capable of being in the position of God, his Maker (1 Timothy 3:6b). And sadly it was evident in King David, who momentarily succumbed to an unsanctioned yearning to number the fighting men of Israel in 1 Samuel 24:2.

Taking a census was not in and of itself an ungodly decision. After all, Exodus 30:12-13 provided the Hebrew people instructions about how to properly number the people. But the primary difference between the biblical text in Exodus and how David carried it out so many years later is that he did not call for a corresponding ransom, or worship, offering. Thus, Israel was in direct violation of God’s Word because they counted themselves without giving God the glory or recognition via monetary gifts, symbolizing gratitude and thankfulness to the Lord. In essence, the Hebrew people focused on physical benefits instead of God’s spiritual blessings. And what happened after David received the tally of fighting men? He felt immense shame and guilt (2 Samuel 24:10), which is always the result of impure conduct and thought. 

The underlying longing for David to number Israel’s army was steeped in pride. His reign as king had encountered the sunset years and he wanted to know the size and scope of his earthly domain. In no way did David consult God or show humility with the request. He simply wanted to see how big and how grand his military war machine was during his civil leadership watch. He looked away from God and he looked to his kinsmen for a sense of self-accomplishment. It was a costly move for God immediately shrunk the range of David’s empire in one fierce blow. A plague was summarily thrust upon Israel, and some seventy-thousand people died as a result. Coincidentally, the mechanism of reckoning an unlawful census was through a nationwide plague, per Exodus 30:12.       

What emerges from this Scriptural account is that pride is the antithesis of humility. It prevents mankind from sincerely and respectfully observing the ways of God. If we are to walk rightly and reverently then we need to keep our heart’s intention pure and upright. We need to be passionately mindful of God’s will. We need to be attuned to God’s work. We need to be careful to guard out steps and keep them within the moral boundaries God has outlined in His Word.

Ultimately, pride robs us of the opportunity to trust in God. It prevents us from enjoying the joy that comes from leaning on the Lord’s everlasting arms. It falsely guides us to selfish ambition and egocentric pursuits, which always disappoint and disillusion in the end. In short, pride undermines a relationship with God because it causes us to wrongly conclude that we don’t need God. Obviously, nothing could be further from the truth for it is only by embracing our dependency upon the Lord that we discover definitive meaning and purpose. It is only through dying to prideful, fleshly behavior that we can experience the humble, eternal life God has for us through the atoning work of Jesus Christ - a life that does not require the continual pursuit of self-accomplishment and human accolades. A life, rather, that thrives by exercising faith in God and resting on His great promises.