Hit him again! Really?

People love a good fight. Oh, they say they don’t but evidence is, they do!  Politics here in America are deeply partisan. If one side says, ‘yes’ the other says ‘no’  no matter what is best for the country.  Too many families that are divided over some relatively unimportant issue that took place years ago. 

God gives us, His children, a charge to bring peace wherever possible.  We are not to be people of drama, people who hold grudges, people who keep stirring the pot!  We are to build bridges of reconciliation.  How? Learn a lesson from Abigail.

David, is a rogue and a hero, a sinner and a saint;  aren't we all?  He was on the run from King Saul, living desperately in the wilds south of Jerusalem. He got his daily bread by providing a security service for the people of the region. One day he sent several men to a rich farmer to collect payment. Nabal, whom the Bible describes as 'surly and mean in his dealings,' refuses the request and adds an insult for David, implying he's just a 'street punk.' 

When David got the message his response was an irrational anger and a consuming desire for vengeance! He says to his warriors, "Put on your swords!" and took 400 of them to settle the score with mean old Nabal, aptly named, by the way; for his name means, "fool."

Enter Abigail. She was Nabal's wife and the Bible says that she was 'intelligent and beautiful.' When word reached Abigail that her husband had insulted David and that he was on his way to settle the score, she "lost no time. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. Then she told her servants, “Go on ahead; I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them....." (1 Samuel 25:18-20)

She interceded eloquently for her husband with wise words of peace! “Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the LORD’s battles. Let no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live. Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. When the LORD has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel, my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the LORD has brought my master success, remember your servant.”(1 Samuel 25:28-31) David's anger faded as he listened, but it's not over! The drama is about to increase. (Violins rising, please.)

Abigail went home and found her husband drunk at a party. The next day when he sobered up, she told him about the disaster she had averted. Nabal, realizing his stupidity, had a heart attack, slipped into a coma, and died 10 days later! David later married this woman.  Talk about a win/win outcome. His conscience is clear AND he gets the beautiful girl! (And who says the Bible is boring? That's better than Shakespeare!)

Are you a person of peace?
Are you willing to wade into conflict with wise words that seek to restore relationships and heal old wounds?

Christian, the will of God for us is that we "Seek peace and pursue it."  Conflict is persistent so we must run after peace, reaching out to take hold of it, making every effort in our attempts at reconciliation and peace-making. When we make peace, we are like God, who seeks to reconcile us to Himself.

The word from the Word today says "the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." (James 3:17) “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”(Matthew 5:9)

Pray this –

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

-St. Francis of Assisi