Did you see the recent news article about the cabbie that found $187,000 in cash? Yes, a Boston taxi cab driver dropped off a homeless man at a hotel. The homeless man had just finished living in a homeless shelter for the past six months when he inherited the incredible sum of money. Yes, you heard me correctly – a homeless man inherited nearly $200,000. It was then that Raymond, a 72-year-old taxi cab driver with more than 50 years of experience on the job, noticed a forgotten bag. Opening it up to find a name, he found stacks of $50 and $100 bills inside. He worried the man might be dangerous, so he decided to bring the cash to a local police station. Only the money was not ill-gotten. Instead, the money was from a homeless man’s that he accidentally forgot in the cab. After the homeless money located his money, he offered the cab driver $100 for his honesty. But then this cab driver offered a salient comment for our day, he felt the man should have given him more money as a reward. Yes, the cab driver felt he should have received even more. After all, his $100 reward was the equivalent to less than half a penny on the dollar when you consider the large sum of money. Would you bookmark this story for a few moments, and we’ll return to it.
Today, I want to talk to you about how you can develop kindness. Mark Twain said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear, and the blind can see.” Many think it only take willpower to be kind. No, it takes supernatural power to be kind. You need supernatural power to overcome the rude and insensitive feelings welling up inside of you.
We’re in a summer sermon series devoted to bringing the change into our lives that we’ve always longed for. These nine virtues are the real signs the Spirit is in and with you. It’s a series devoted to advocating living life with the fruit of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). Kindness stands in the middle of this ancient list of nine virtues.
Today, I want to motivate you to be kind. Kindness is a display of love … it’s really a demonstration of love. Today, I want to you to see kindness through the window in the life of King David. This is one of the most moving and beautiful stories in all of the Old Testament.
Today’s Scripture Passage
And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”
Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet. (2 Samuel 9:1-13)
I want you to think of your Bible as if it was a DVD. Pop the DVD in the Player, and you see the menu. On that menu, you can hit play, look at bonus features, or you always have that one option, “Scene Selection.” This morning, we are hitting the “Scene Selection” button on the story of David and Mephibosheth. " This is not a scene that really moves the plot of the Bible along. There are no battles, no fighting giants, no miracles, and no world-changing events and yet, it was one of the most memorable, powerful scenes in the Bible. So it’s a kind of forgotten scene for many people. Now, there are four characters you need to know in order to fully appreciate this story: David, Saul, Jonathan, and Mephibosheth. David had possibly been the king of Israel for some twenty years when our story takes place. And to appreciate the depth of the story, you need to understand something of the animosity that takes place between Saul and David. But you have to also understand something of the depth of the great friendship between Saul’s son, Jonathan, and David.
The Importance of David
David lives approximately 1,000 years before Jesus or about 3,000 years ago. Now, there’s more information about David than any other figure in the Old Testament. Whenever you read the gospels, Jesus is seldom called the Son of Moses or the Son of Abraham. Instead, Jesus is called over and over again, the Son of David. When David was at his best, we see a glimpse of the heart of Jesus, our true king. David finds unique favor in God’s eyes as He is the greatest king of Israel. More than anything else, you need to remember, God makes a promise to David that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. God makes a promise to David, and Jesus is the long-awaited, promised King.
Saul and David
Our second character in today’s story is Saul. Saul was Israel’s first king, but God had rejected him for his lack of godly character. By the time of our story, Saul is dead having been killed in an epic battle. Years before, God had instructed the prophet Samuel to anoint the young David while Saul was still on the throne. Now the jealousy of Saul was hotly inflamed whenever David’s name was mentioned. He hated David so much that even the mention of his name drove Saul into a rage. Saul’s jealousy was stoked when he overheard the popular song in Israel of the day: “And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). There are stories of David, who is known as “the sweet singer of Israel,” playing his harp to soothe King Saul’s fits of rage. Yet, Saul takes a spear and flings it at the young David. And sometime later, Saul chases David for years in an effort to kill him. To escape the vengeful Saul, David has to leave the nation of Israel and join with the enemies of Israel in order to save his life from Saul. So there’s a great deal of animosity built up in the relationship between David and Saul.
Jonathan and David
But if the animosity between the father and David were the black night of our story, the friendship between Saul’s son and David served as the stars, the pinprick points of light in the night sky offering us hope. Jonathan fought in battle together. Again, for you to fully appreciate the incredible kindness being shown here, you need to understand something of the back story between Jonathan and David. Turn with me a few chapters earlier to 1 Samuel 18 for the back story:
“As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants” (1 Samuel 18:1-5).
Now, their friendship blossomed despite Jonathan’s father’s extreme jealousy of David. The course of their friendship is really during the same timeframe as Saul’s murderous threats against David’s life. So all through the relationship between the two men, Jonathan is caught on the horns of a dilemma. Should he side with his dad, Saul, who everyone could see was in the wrong? Or should he side with his friend, David?
Now, notice the Bible says that Jonathan made a covenant with David. Did you see that? Do you know when Jonathan stripped himself of his rob and sword? He was giving up his throne. Remember, Jonathan was supposed to be king. He was the king’s son and the heir to the throne. The friendship of Jonathan and David happened even though Jonathan would have been naturally next in line to be king. Jonathan and David did not have an ordinary friendship, for the two made a covenant.
Mephibosheth
Mephibosheth is the last of the four characters you need to focus on today. Mephibosheth is the son of Jonathan and the grandson of Saul. Interestingly, his name probably means “from the mouth of shame.” It is important for you should also know that Mephibosheth is handicapped. A generation ago, many would have called him crippled. Either way, Mephibosheth is unable to perform the tasks of many more normal people.
“Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth” (2 Samuel 4:4).
Mephibosheth was only five years old when his father died. The nurse did not know anything about the covenant David and Jonathan made, simply fearing the boy would be put to death by a vengeful kind. Yes, Mephibosheth lost his ability to walk because everyone knew that the new king would eliminate any potential rivals from the former’s king’s family. Here he was, the grandson of the great king, lying up in seclusion in a place where no one can find him. There are four characters in our story. But what do we learn from this story? And how does this help us gain a supernatural grip on kindness?
1. The Importance of Kindness
Mark Twain said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Look at David’s incredible kindness for a moment. David learned about Mephibosheth’s existence and found him in the town called “Lo-debar.” The name “Lo-debar” is significant for it literally means “no pasture.” It’s a no nothing place. I grew up in a “no nothing” kind of place by the opinion of many. So here was a man who was the grandson to the first king of Israel and he had lost everything. If Mephibosheth were to ask his nurse, why are we out here in the middle of nowhere? She would say, “Because of your enemy, King David. If David ever finds you, he's going to kill you.” If he were to ask his nurse, “Why am I crippled?” She would reply, “You’re crippled because of King David. You were fleeing from David when the accident happened.. And you’d better hope that David never catches you. You’d better hope that David never finds out where you are.” So here Mephibosheth is eating dust, drinking dust, and living in poverty when he gets a call from David.
Now capture the scene.
Mephibosheth knows that his cover is blown as soon as he sees the king’s entourage come out in front. There are the king’s horses, the king’s guards. Everything inside of him is on high alert when the king arrives. It’s the equivalent of “Defcon One” in terms of the US military’s readiness. He says, “Oh no, they’ve found me, they’ve found me!” They throw open the door. “Mephibosheth?!” “Yes,” he hesitantly replies. “Come, Mephibosheth, David wants you.” And they pick him up and drag him along. They put him in the carriage, they carry him there to the royal palace. Mephibosheth comes there to the palace, before the very throne of David, where he falls on his face. Can you see him there? He’s quivering, trembling like a bird in a trap. And he’s saying in his heart, “David, go ahead, let the ax fall on me. Get it over with, David. Go ahead and do it. I’ve been told that you hate me, I've been told that you want to kill me.” But he’s not prepared for what David says next.
1. The Importance of Kindness
2. The Scarcity of Kindness
Don’t you find that it is easy to respond to an act of kindness with kindness? The real trick is to respond with kindness to those who lack it.
There’s an ancient custom in our story that I want you to be aware of. In ancient times, when a new regime or dynasty came to power, the prevailing practice was to kill every one of the former king’s family (1 Kings 15, 16; 2 Kings 10). In order for the new king to solidify his position, he killed every living family member known of the previous king. Everybody knew it, and everybody practiced it. In order for David to really secure his throne, it was necessary for him to hunt down every direct descendant of Saul and kill all of them. Imagine listening to this story for the first time. You are just waiting for that ax to fall on Mephibosheth, but then you realize, David was not seeking the descendants of Jonathan to secure his throne or to distinguish Saul’s bloodline, but to show them kindness.
The Bible says these words: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). In a world of chaos and violence, acts of kindness tend to stick out. Instead of killing Mephibosheth, he invites him into his family. David restores his family’s land to him: Mephibosheth moves from Lo-Debar to the Royal Land. David restores the servants to work that land and brings him the produce and profits: Mephibosheth moves from exiled and crippled to possessing numerous servants. But more importantly: David invites him to dine at his table like one of his children. Now the king’s table will cover his crippled feet. Wow! What a turnaround!
I began this message by telling you about a cabbie named Raymond who found $187,000 in his cab. And do you remember how he had complained about wanting more reward money?
I want to introduce you to ten-year-old, Myles Eckert. It was a snowy morning in Toledo, Ohio when Myles found a $20 bill in a restaurant parking lot. Being a ten-year-old boy, his immediate thought was of the video game he would buy with his newfound money. But when a soldier in uniform entered the restaurant, Myles changed his plans. He took the $20 and wrote this note: "Dear Soldier -- my dad was a soldier. He's in heaven now. I found this 20 dollars in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It's your lucky day! Thank you for your service. Myles Eckert, a gold star kid." You see, Myles’ father was killed in Iraq, just five weeks after Myles was born. The Lieutenant Colonel that received the money and the note passed it along to someone else in need. However, that one act of kindness started the ball rolling. Over the last two years, kindness has turned that $20 into over $2 million dollars raised for Gold Star charities that support the families of troops. Kindness is so powerful that it can turn $20 into $2 Million dollars. Earlier this year, Myles received the citizen’s version of the Medal of Honor, as voted upon by Medal of Honor recipients. Only kindness does that. In a mean, violent world, only kindness is that powerful.
In order to show such remarkable kindness, you and I must be looking for opportunities. You will only express the kindness of God when you begin looking for opportunities. There was a window of opportunity for David to show kindness to Mephibosheth. There were other pressing issues to take care of, and yet David took the opportunity to show kindness. The window for kindness opens and closes, sometimes without notice.
- If your idol is your clock/calendar/organizational skills, you will never have enough time to be kind.
- If your idol is money, kindness will always be too expensive; “We wish we could be kind, but it simply costs too much.”
- If your idol is your own self-importance, well, you simply can’t get mixed up in the problems of lower-class people.
- If your idol is race, that person doesn’t look like me/speak my language, and so I cannot be kind to them.
Think about just a normal day in your week, what is it that keeps you from being kind? Don’t miss your opportunity.
1. The Importance of Kindness
2. The Scarcity of Kindness
3. The Window of Kindness
But something else is happening in this story, and I want you to see the relationship between David’s actions and God’s character. And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake” (2 Samuel 9:1)? The word for “kindness” is the Hebrew word “chesed.” This is a challenging word to translate, for it means much more than kindness. The word “chesed” is also the word that the Bible uses to remind us of God’s covenant love. A few moments ago, I told you that Jesus is seldom called the Son of Moses or the Son of Abraham. Instead, Jesus is called over and over again, the Son of David.
David’s kindness is here to tell us about God’s rich kindness in at least three ways.
3.1 David Searches as God Searches
Just as David searched for someone in Saul’s family to show incredible kindness, God searches for you to demonstrate His incredible kindness. And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him” (2 Samuel 9:3)? God searches for you just as David searched for Mephibosheth.
3.2 David Remembers/God Remembers
But God is like David in at least one other way. Just as David showed “chesed” because of his promise to Jonathan, God showed “chesed” because of His promise to King David. Remember a moment ago when I said “chesed” means covenant love. So many of our relationships today are consumer relationships – if my needs are met, then I’m out. But God’s relationship with His children is described by this word, “chesed.” God is committed to you, He sacrifices for the relationship even when it does not meet His needs. That is “chesed.” In a world of consumer relationships, I invite you to Jesus Christ who loves you like no one else. He shows you “chesed.”
3.3 Mephibosheth Didn’t Deserve and Nor Do You and Me
Ask yourself this question, “Why did Mephibosheth receive such kindness from David?” David was kind to Mephibosheth because Mephibosheth’s father put his life at risk to save David. Jonathan was willing to relinquish his throne so that David would ascend the this coveted position. No wonder David did this for Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was blessed because of what his father did. Mephibosheth didn’t deserve this but Jonathan did.
That’s exactly how the cross works for you. You don’t deserved God’s rich kindness, but Jesus did. Jesus is Jonathan and you and I are Mephibosheth. We benefit from what Jesus did just as Mephibosheth benefited from Jonathan did. Kindness is a characteristic of God Himself: “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36). Just like David showed kindness to his enemy, God showed His kindness for His enemies.
