“and I will celebrate before the Lord. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes” (2 Samuel 6:21-22 ESV)

When David came leaping and dancing as he led the procession that brought the Ark into Jerusalem, his wife, Michal despised him for it. She spoke sarcastically to him as he arrived, saying, “How the king of Israel has honored himself today,” accusing him of acting “shamelessly” as one of the “vulgar” common people. In other words, she didn’t think his behavior was befitting a member of the upper class, much less a king. David’s response to her was revealing of his heart. He explained that he was “celebrating before the Lord,” not for men and certainly not for her. He further stated his intent to become even “more contemptible,” more undignified than this, when it came to worshiping the Lord. David’s worship was for God, not men. He didn’t care what men thought of him, only what God thought of him.