Main news for 7 February 2022

What is frightening about David's desire to count his people? The king is only finding out what he owns. The information is not useless and is very important for a ruler. From it one learns how many soldiers one can count on in war, how much tax can be collected, and so on. It seems to us that the king has the right to know all this, since the king's power is unlimited. Especially a king appointed by God. But the uniqueness of the king of Israel's position is that the people given to him actually belong to God. God counts them, multiplies them, and raises them. And the desire to move God aside, to deprive Him of power at least mentally, to count everything and take possession of everything, pushing God higher up in order to dispose of earthly things oneself, is not only the desire of an anointed king but of every person. At the same time it is also the root of original sin: to possess everything oneself and declare oneself master of everything that seems to be yours. But this "everything" is only given into stewardship. And the Owner Himself knows the times and seasons when He determines how wisely you manage what has been entrusted to you.