Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, October 25, 2026
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: David’s greed caused him to commit terrible acts for his own pleasure. As our world’s wealth is continually distributed unfairly, we can reflect in this moment on how we might do things differently.
One would think David would understand what it was like to live as a commoner. He was the youngest in a family of shepherds. He was unremarkable in the eyes of the prophet, Samuel, until God showed Samuel David’s potential. He didn’t participate in the battle against the Philistines until he stepped up to defeat their champion. He rose to power and wealth with relative ease. Still, with all that he had attained, it was not enough. He stole the wife of his soldier and sent the man to his death at the front lines of a battle.
In the US, the pursuit of happiness is baked into the fabric of society. Unfortunately, we have been spoon fed the lie that consumption is the path to happiness. We are perpetually in a state of chasing more. Yet making more money and owning more possessions seem to have the opposite of the desired effect. Those with the most seem to be the ones with the biggest appetite for more, especially at the expense of all others.
It's unlikely that David as a young shepherd would have dreamed he’d be capable of adultery and murder. But with power and money, David did not even seem to acknowledge those as horrendous actions. It was not until Samuel pointed out his sin that David even considered how his actions affected others.
Corporations and pharmaceutical companies, billionaires and generational wealth seem to hold all the cards in the US right now. The richer they all get, the more the average American gets squeezed. They don’t seem to acknowledge the horrors they inflict because of their greed.
This moment in time can be a turning point in American culture. As we lean into God’s rebuke, “You are the man!” we can first look at our own overconsumption and begin to make changes to our habits and routines with the intent to redistribute wealth to those who have less than we do. Then we can withhold our money from the richest by supporting small businesses and patronizing the juggernauts less. Brainstorm ways that you can redistribute your resources fairly.
