Reading through the life of David, I came across an interesting verse:
“Now the sons of Eli were worthless men.” 1 Samuel 2:12
Worthless men? Sounds pretty harsh, doesn’t it? And yet this is what the bible called them.
Is there really such a thing as a worthless man?
According to the bible, yes.
The dictionary defines worthless as “without worth; of no use, importance, or value; good-for-nothing”.
If the bible describes some men as worthless, I want to find out what makes a man worthless and make sure that man is not me.
So what does the bible say made these men worthless?
“Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.” 1 Samuel 2:12
Men use all kinds of standards to determine their worth, but the word of God determines a man’s worth by whether or not he “knows the Lord”. It doesn’t matter how smart or educated you are, how strong or athletic you are, how wealthy or business savvy you are.
Do you understand and know the Lord?
“Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”” Jeremiah 9:23-24
Knowing Jesus has a worth that surpasses every other counterfeit offer:
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Phil 3:8-11
Be a man. Be a man with worth; of use, importance, and value; good-for-something.
Be a man that knows and understands God.
(Image adapted from: El Alvi – cc)
