Life Of David: Loving Your Enemies Series

ILLUSTRATION… Men’s Bathroom Protocol

I do not think that the women in the room realize this, but there are unwritten rules for men in public bathrooms and it is expected that each man is to know these rules. Women’s rules for bathroom behavior is unknown to me. It do not think I have ever been in a women’s bathroom, but men’s bathroom behavior is something I know about:

1) when using a urinal, there must be an empty one between you and another fellow if at all possible (1,3,5 rule)

2) no talking

3) look straight ahead or straight up (fake stretch if you have to)... no eye contact

4) when waiting, look mostly at the floor until it is your turn

I think King Saul was following some of these unwritten rules while he was in the cave. He must have been looking straight ahead and not paying attention to anything else. David came up and cut a piece of his robe off and he did not even know! David was a skilled warrior and Saul was definitely occupied. I think about this situation if the roles were reversed. What if it had been Saul in the back of the cave and David the one entering and taking care of some business. I see from 1 Samuel 19-23 that Saul would not have hesitated to kill David. He would have snuck up and put a spear into him as he had tried so many times before.

I find it remarkable that David was "conscience stricken." In the deepest part of David’s feelings, he felt guilty and could not believe what he had done. He respected Saul for being the "Lord’s Anointed" as the king of Israel and the one that God chose to lead His people.

III. DEALING WITH ENEMIES (1 Samuel 24:5-22)

I think that we can learn a great deal from David on how to deal with those people we consider enemies in

our lives. Jesus certainly tells us in Matthew 5 that we should love them and pray for them. Yet, David also shows us how to deal with the difficult and hostile people in our lives.

First, we should follow our conscience and the prodding of the Holy Spirit inside of us. David followed his conscience (verses 5-7) and did not listen to his men who were contradicting it. The men thought they should take advantage of this opportunity and David should kill Saul. David listened to his conscience (and the Holy Spirit which came upon him in 1 Samuel 16:13). I do not want to sound like Jimmeny Cricket, but it would be best if we would "let our conscience be our guide." Allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in these situations with these people that cause us stress and grief. That means we must be in prayer and attentive to God’s Word if we are to hear the voice of God and His direction.

Second, we should be humble (verse 8). This, I think, is the most difficult of all the things that David did while dealing with King Saul. David still showed respect and still bowed before the king. God’s Word states that God saves those who are humble (Psalm 18:27), God guides those who are humble (Psalm 25:9), and sustains the humble (Psalm 147:6). God also gives grace to those that are humble (Proverbs 3:34). I do not know about you, but when delaing with difficult people... I certainly want God and His blessing on my side. God will guide us when it comes to things like this if we are humble. God will sustain us in situations when we may have to deal with them day after day. Jesus tells us to learn from Him in Matthew 11:29 and then describes Himself as humble in heart.