“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.”(Psalm 24:3-4)

In the business world, many people get to the top by climbing over others on the way. They want to be “king of the hill” and nothing or nobody is going to stop them. But in the spiritual world, the goal isn’t to stand in power in front of shareholder; its to stand in humility and inner strength before the Lord.

In the awkward time between his anointing and his coronation as king David had many opportunities to take shortcuts and compromise his integrity. Saul chased David and his men through deserts and towns, and on several occasions, David could have killed Saul and taken the throne immediately. His most trusted and loyal followers urged him to do just that. But each time, David refused to rush to success. He trusted God to accomplish His purposes in His timing. Through times of misunderstood, attacked and betrayed, David had “clean hands and a pure heart”. He trusted God even in the darkest days and he kept telling the truth.

One of the most significant features of Davids life was loyalty of his men. In him they saw a man they could trust, a man who spoke the unvarnished truth and followed God with his whole heart. Even before David became king of Israel, his character won the hearts of his men.

The greatest use of a life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.