1 Samuel 24:1-22
Who are my enemies?
Evidence shows that my enemies are those who think counter to what I think. They believe things contrary to my belief systems. If you speak out against homosexuality, and call it sinful or wrong, you're my enemy. If you lump all the Muslims together in one bunch and call them terrorists, you're my enemy. If you claim to know where or what hell is and who's going there, you're my enemy. Yet, I look behind me and see that you're not chasing me. You're not hunting me down. You're in your own world, doing your own things, and minding your own business.
I've created my own construct of what an enemy is, and it's futile. It's so far from the truth. If I want to see a real construct of what an enemy looks like, I need look no further than the relationship between Saul and David.
Saul is on the hunt for David again. He's got three companies of the best warriors in all of Israel. He's heard where David is hiding out, and he's closer than ever. As Saul and his men get closer, Saul spots a cave where he can take a crap. He climbs up to the cave, and doesn't have any clue that David and his men are hiding out in the same cave. David's men tell him, "Dude, can you believe this? This confirms what God said when he said, 'I'll deliver your enemies into your hands.'"
His men tell him to do whatever he wants. He has free reign to do whatever he wants with the helpless Saul. So, he decides to crawl up to Saul in the dark and tear off a piece of his robe. Immediately, David feels guilty. He crawls back to his men and says, "I shouldn't have so much as raised a finger against God's anointed."
These words held back his men as they wanted to pounce on Saul and tear him up. Instead, David held his men back and let Saul finish his business and head out. As Saul was on his way out, David stepped out of the cave and called out his name. He was holding the piece of robe up in the air, and he fell to his knees defenseless.
He told Saul, "Why are you chasing me? You now see with your very own eyes that God put you right into my hands. My men wanted me to kill you, but I won't so much as lay a finger on God's anointed. What are you chasing? A dead dog? A flea? Why do you listen to the people who say that David is trying to overtake you? I have no intentions of even raising a finger against you. You're God's anointed!"
Saul starts weeping. He's overwhelmed by the fact that at his most vulnerable, David showed him mercy and forgiveness. He admits that he's been dumping evil all over David while David heaps goodness and compassion.
Saul was a true enemy, the likes of which I've never experienced. If I'm honest with myself, there have been some people I've been pretty pissed off at, but it was nothing that I didn't help create in the first place. In this story, David is truly innocent. He's done nothing against Saul. Saul's jealousy of David has created the enemy construct. Saul has no right to call David his enemy, but David has all the right. If anyone was ever justified to kill, it was David. He's wrapped his whole life around escaping death from the hands of Saul, and finally has his chance to end it. But, what does he say? "I will leave the judgment in God's hands. It's God's job to avenge, not mine."
The author doesn't tell us that David curses Saul behind his back. The author doesn't tell us that Saul's anger fuels David. We're told that David knows he's innocent, and he sees through Saul's delirium and rage. He still manages to see Saul as anointed. Wow.
I need to get rid of these constructs in my own life, separating me from my friends. I don't have any enemies. They're all in my head. I'm Saul. I'm jealous, threatened, and vulnerable. I get angry at people for all the wrong reasons. I spend hours, days, and months trying to chase down my ghosts, trying to prove that they're wrong, but when it comes down to it, all I'm doing is heaping evil. All the while, my "enemies" are shoveling goodness onto my head.
My enemies are not really enemies at all. As long as I let my delirium tell me that this is an "us vs. them" kind of world, I'll always have a fight, a chase, a chance to conquer.
As Saul is overwhelmed by David's compassion, he asks, "Who meets their enemy on the road and sends them away with a blessing?"
If I see the people who aren't chasing me, aren't hunting me down, and aren't threatening my life as enemies, how would I ever bless anyone who actually did unjustifiably hunt me down? I'm personally blown away by this story. I've heard it before, but never to the extent that I'm hearing it right now.
I've got a big problem that needs to be acknowledged. I still see the world through a lens of me vs. them. I still see a whole population of people as them. I still see certain religious people as them. I still see certain people as them. I want to see them as God's anointed.
Today's Action: Find out who them is, and bless them.
Who are my enemies?
Evidence shows that my enemies are those who think counter to what I think. They believe things contrary to my belief systems. If you speak out against homosexuality, and call it sinful or wrong, you're my enemy. If you lump all the Muslims together in one bunch and call them terrorists, you're my enemy. If you claim to know where or what hell is and who's going there, you're my enemy. Yet, I look behind me and see that you're not chasing me. You're not hunting me down. You're in your own world, doing your own things, and minding your own business.
I've created my own construct of what an enemy is, and it's futile. It's so far from the truth. If I want to see a real construct of what an enemy looks like, I need look no further than the relationship between Saul and David.
Saul is on the hunt for David again. He's got three companies of the best warriors in all of Israel. He's heard where David is hiding out, and he's closer than ever. As Saul and his men get closer, Saul spots a cave where he can take a crap. He climbs up to the cave, and doesn't have any clue that David and his men are hiding out in the same cave. David's men tell him, "Dude, can you believe this? This confirms what God said when he said, 'I'll deliver your enemies into your hands.'"
His men tell him to do whatever he wants. He has free reign to do whatever he wants with the helpless Saul. So, he decides to crawl up to Saul in the dark and tear off a piece of his robe. Immediately, David feels guilty. He crawls back to his men and says, "I shouldn't have so much as raised a finger against God's anointed."
These words held back his men as they wanted to pounce on Saul and tear him up. Instead, David held his men back and let Saul finish his business and head out. As Saul was on his way out, David stepped out of the cave and called out his name. He was holding the piece of robe up in the air, and he fell to his knees defenseless.
He told Saul, "Why are you chasing me? You now see with your very own eyes that God put you right into my hands. My men wanted me to kill you, but I won't so much as lay a finger on God's anointed. What are you chasing? A dead dog? A flea? Why do you listen to the people who say that David is trying to overtake you? I have no intentions of even raising a finger against you. You're God's anointed!"
Saul starts weeping. He's overwhelmed by the fact that at his most vulnerable, David showed him mercy and forgiveness. He admits that he's been dumping evil all over David while David heaps goodness and compassion.
Saul was a true enemy, the likes of which I've never experienced. If I'm honest with myself, there have been some people I've been pretty pissed off at, but it was nothing that I didn't help create in the first place. In this story, David is truly innocent. He's done nothing against Saul. Saul's jealousy of David has created the enemy construct. Saul has no right to call David his enemy, but David has all the right. If anyone was ever justified to kill, it was David. He's wrapped his whole life around escaping death from the hands of Saul, and finally has his chance to end it. But, what does he say? "I will leave the judgment in God's hands. It's God's job to avenge, not mine."
The author doesn't tell us that David curses Saul behind his back. The author doesn't tell us that Saul's anger fuels David. We're told that David knows he's innocent, and he sees through Saul's delirium and rage. He still manages to see Saul as anointed. Wow.
I need to get rid of these constructs in my own life, separating me from my friends. I don't have any enemies. They're all in my head. I'm Saul. I'm jealous, threatened, and vulnerable. I get angry at people for all the wrong reasons. I spend hours, days, and months trying to chase down my ghosts, trying to prove that they're wrong, but when it comes down to it, all I'm doing is heaping evil. All the while, my "enemies" are shoveling goodness onto my head.
My enemies are not really enemies at all. As long as I let my delirium tell me that this is an "us vs. them" kind of world, I'll always have a fight, a chase, a chance to conquer.
As Saul is overwhelmed by David's compassion, he asks, "Who meets their enemy on the road and sends them away with a blessing?"
If I see the people who aren't chasing me, aren't hunting me down, and aren't threatening my life as enemies, how would I ever bless anyone who actually did unjustifiably hunt me down? I'm personally blown away by this story. I've heard it before, but never to the extent that I'm hearing it right now.
I've got a big problem that needs to be acknowledged. I still see the world through a lens of me vs. them. I still see a whole population of people as them. I still see certain religious people as them. I still see certain people as them. I want to see them as God's anointed.
Today's Action: Find out who them is, and bless them.
I read this morning about "mission". The guy mentioned that we need to be *with* Jesus instead of *for* Jesus. I think that pertains to how *we* approach this question of who *they* are. The dual of *for* is *against*. The dual of *with* is *without*. One creates enemies way and one creates hope. If the them is simply "Who am I with?" - we'll probably find it is those who we are regularly with - our "neighbor". Jesus said, pretty much, if you want to be *with* me, love your neighbor.
ReplyDelete