Poor me

Sunday June 17th, 1 Kings 21: 1 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, "Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth." 3 But Naboth replied, "The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers." 4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat. Sometimes we get the strange notion that all we have, power, possessions, prestige are because of the sweat of our brow and therefore “We Deserve It” lies at the basis of what we do and think. God has given each of us many gifts and opportunities to use for the work of the Kingdom and our calling is to use them wisely, knowing that everything we have is a gift from God. Ahab forgot that and therefore sulked. Sulking is not a bad thing, just a bit self-absorbed. That self-absorbed attitude, as we shall see, can spark events in our lives, and in the lives around us, in ways that can be most destructive to the Kingdom.