Loving our Enemies

Then Joab went into the house to the king and said, "Today you have humiliated all your men, who have just saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines. You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. - 2 Samuel 2: 19

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. – Luke 6: 27-28

Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 19-20; Luke 18: 1-23

Wow…

So you know the whole thing that Jesus says about loving your enemies and turning the other cheek. Sounds ridiculous right? Well it sure did to Joab, the commander of Israel’s army under David.

I remember as a kid always hearing that David was the man who had the heart of God. I never really knew what that meant. How can a person achieve that? What is God’s heart like?

Well… this is what the old folks must have been talking about.

David loved his enemies.

First we saw it with Saul. Saul repeatedly tried to kill David. But what did David do? He continued to honor Saul and show love to him to the point that he spared his life on multiple occasions.

Now we are seeing it with Absalom. Sure he is David’s son, but he is no less an enemy than Saul was. Absalom hustled his way to the throne, ousted David and sent his troops on a manhunt to snuff him about.

And what did David do? He instructed his troops not to lay a finger on him. After all of the turmoil that Absalom caused David was not going to lay a finger on him.

This is love beyond my understanding. I don’t get how folks could conduct their lives in such a way. But I also realize it is not outside of our reach. We see it every time we study the life of Gandhi and MLK Jr. We see it when we observe non-violent protesters standing firm in the line of fire. We see it every day in America with our friends and neighbors who work to coexist with people who hate them for who they are and what they represent.

In this instruction lies the key to our future. Imagine what the world would be like if we could love our enemies!

What a wonderful place it would be.

Shame: A Letter to David

As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul's family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king's officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David's right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, "Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood!" – Excerpt from 2 Samuel 16: 5-14

Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 16-18; Luke 17: 20-37

Yo David,

Man, what are you thinking? I read this over and over again at least four or five times. And all I could think was wow… what would I be thinking here?

Several years earlier you knocked up Bathsheba and killed her husband in the process. The prophet Nathan told you about yourself and you felt real bad. You knew that God was not a fan of what you did.

Not one bit.

So fast forward a couple of years and here you are… running out of Israel to escape from your son Absalom. On the way out you run into Saul’s kin folk. Of course he’s not exactly pleased with you. But wow. He throws stones at you in front of all of your men and curses you saying that you got dethroned because you are a man of blood.

Must not have felt too good man…

What’s interesting is that you know that you were anointed by God through Samuel. That is undeniable. So of course what he is saying about this being retribution for Saul is incorrect. But, you sure do know that you have some innocent blood on your hands.

I too wondered why you didn’t have old boy snuffed out when he was throwing stones. But I get it. Even though he wasn’t exactly right, you knew that you were wrong.

Your tryst with Bathsheba turned you into the man of blood that he was speaking of.

I guess it pays to do right doesn’t it?

I’m not judging you, but it seems like you have some doubts at this point. But how much do you doubt? Do you doubt whether or not you will be king again? Or, do you doubt whether or not you ever should have been?

It seems to me that both are equally likely because of the remorse that you felt for the wrong that you did.

So hard man…

No person is perfect… and hence the difficulty of living life. But one thing you have shown me here David, is that when we do wrong we open the door to all kinds of confusion.

I’ll do my best… sigh…

Peace.