God forbid that I should have done this

1Samuel 24:5-6

Immediately he felt guilty. He said to his men, “God forbid that I should have done this to my master, God’s anointed, that I should so much as raise a finger against him. He’s God’s anointed!”

Saul is on a rampage, trying to get David and kill him. But God has given David this amazing opportunity: David sneaks into the cave where Saul is sleeping and cuts off a corner of his robe. David’s men want him to kill Saul, but David refuses. So here is a guy who is going after David, determined to kill him, but because God had anointed him, David won’t return his aggression with more aggression. Even though David himself has been anointed, by Samuel, and knows he is the next king of Israel, he is patient and ready to let God bring it about in his own time and his own way and until that happens, he is ready to be Saul’s loyal follower. And in the meantime, he refuses to do harm to the one who seeks to do him harm.

What an example! I have trouble not retaliating against people who speak nasty to me, or are mean to me in some way, but none of them threaten my life, or even my livelihood. David could have been “justified” in retaliating against Saul, could have even called it self-defense. That’s what I do when I am nasty back, or attack someone who has hurt my feelings. I feel justified – they hurt me! I’m entitled to defend myself! But someone very wise once said “The devil is in the justification.” In the long run, I am not responsible for other people’s behaviors, only my own. While I may be able to justify unloving behaviors on the basis of what others have done to me, that is the devil’s handiwork. God calls me to act in loving ways, even when my feelings get hurt, whether it is a stranger, or someone close to me. That is the hard work of loving.

Prayer: Dear God, I know you call me to be loving to others, even when they are not behaving well toward me. I also know you don’t expect me to be a doormat. Help me to find that right balance of honoring myself, and extending myself in a loving way towards others, treating them as I would have them treat me, even when they don’t respond in kind.