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What do you do with an enemy in your hand?
by Rev. Moses K. Ndereva, Pastor – Lifeline Community Fellowship
Text Scripture: 1st Samuel 24:1-7
1.After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the Desert of En Gedi." 2.So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.
3.He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4.The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said [a] to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 5.Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6.He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." 7.With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
Often times, people tend to get into squabbles, fights and endless relationship battles seeking self gratification but end up with enormous losses and regrets. It is common to find ourselves or those around us restless, disturbed and even vengeful, powered by the fear of insecurity and other forms of selfish attitudes. Whatever the case may be; we suffer immensely when our choices are influenced by conscience failure. In the foregoing text scripture, we see two men acting from both ends of the conscience continuum. From the drama that ensues we can draw the following truths.
1. Bad conscience keeps us on the run in the wrong paths
Saul could not take time to rest even after an exhausting battle with the philistines. It is important for us to know that we have legitimate battles; and that is to fight our enemy the devil. God has empowered us to fight the devil; not one another. Our weapons are incapable of fighting fellow man and especially brethren. When we target our weapons on fellow brethren, we effectively expose ourselves to attacks by the devil. It is sad that the Christian army finds itself fighting its own to the laughter of the enemy camp. It is a move that our own conscience stands against. For Saul to have pursued David in the desert to harm him, he was disobeying his conscience and wasting his effort. We must be careful not to be involved in unnecessary battles among our own people to our own destruction.
2. Wrong battles are always wasteful.
Saul engaged three thousand chosen men from all Israel to pursue and fight David.
Imagine representatives from a whole nation rallied to fight a man! Misguided Saul raises his personal war to a national crisis just to gratify one soul, at the expense of the peace and prosperity of a nation. What a waste! It is very sad when we find ourselves in law courts trying to outdo one another using the very resources God has used to prosper us. Sometimes we allow bad influence to permeate among brethren destroying relationships and possible projects. These losses can be prevented with just a little love and obedience to Christ.
3. Wrong battles put you at risk
Saul unawares, went to relieve himself in the cave, right in the eyes of his “enemy” David. When we pursue people we ought not to harm, we are usually blind and incapable of making sound judgment. Saul only escaped because of David’s good conscience. He could have died had David not intervened. When we get to fight each other, we cannot see the enemy coming to attack us. We leave ourselves exposed and off guard. Whenever we fight on the wrong side, we risk serious losses including our own lives. We must not seek evil for others. Let God fight for you if necessary.
4. Would you spare “Saul” if you had his back?
David could have ended his “apparent” problems by killing Saul, but his good conscience restrained him. David even regretted that he cut the hem of Saul’s robe. How far does your conscience go in keeping your level-headedness?
By sparing Saul, David chose to please God rather than himself. He chose to obey God rather than satisfy his ego, which by this time appeared justifiable even by scripture; going by his brethren’s views.
5. What would you do if you were in David’s position?
With a known enemy at hand, ready armed men on your side and a scriptural backing, would you spare the back of your perceived enemy?
We must challenge ourselves to do what is right even when it appears we can “justifiably” do something nasty to one another. So long as we are brethren, we must keep the bond of peace. True LOVE cannot allow us to harm one another.
What effort do you make to keep yourself from harming your brethren?
6. Further scripture reading
Ephesians 4:3
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Leviticus 19:18
"'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
Proverbs 21:21
He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.
Remember:
- We must improve our conscience towards doing what is right even when the enemy would have us do otherwise.
- There are no excuses, just choose right.
- Doing right is a choice, and there is a reward for it. David ended up the undisputable King.
- Never allow your jealousy and personal pursuits to push you into an unnecessary war.
- Only fight assigned wars; fight the devil not your brothers. After all, we fight against not flesh and blood but against principalities and wicked powers in high places. Clearly, if you can see your brother, then your weapons are ineffective against him or her. Pursue peace.
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