It's Complicated(S1) : WK 4 - THU

4 The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. 5 Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!” 6 So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.” 7 Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before.
1 Samuel 19:4-10 NLT

One thing I’m most struck by in today’s passage is how Jonathan must have spoken in defense of today with a tone of love and respect for his father, otherwise, Saul could have easily just killed Jonathan for his lack of loyalty and respect.  It wouldn’t have been the first time a father killed a son to maintain power.  But Jonathan must have loved his father, even when his father wanted to kill someone near and dear to Jonathan’s heart.

I think there is an important lesson here for us.  In a world that is so ready to disagree with you, or even cancel you, simply based on what you’re wearing, how you voted, or even the color of your skin or your sexual orientation, we are still called to be images of God’s love.  We are still called to love and respect even those we vehemently disagree with, because believe it or not, there is a way to disagree within a spirit of love and respect.

So maybe instead of being quick to block someone on your social media, kick out people from your friend group who voted differently, or shrink and insulate your “people” from ideologies you hate, maybe, we should work on learning again what it means to listen to one another.  Listen to see what makes a person tick.  If we disagree about something, whether an interpretation of Scripture, how to address a problem, or who to vote for, then maybe we should seek to be more curious instead of judgmental.  Maybe before writing someone off, we should learn their name and a little bit about their story and what makes them, them.

See how in verse 6, “Saul listened to Jonathan…” Saul listened because Jonathan spoke to him out of love, and with much respect.  And Jonathan did just plead for David, he tried to remind his father who he knew God to be.

As I am writing this, we just celebrated Martin Luther King Jr day and are about to head into Black History Month.  In honor of both of these, I will end with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. King from a sermon given from an Alabama Jail entitled simply, “Love Your Enemies.”  I think it’s a reminder to our community to lovewell, even when it’s really hard, because love is the only hope we have.

“Returning hate for hate mul­ti­plies hate, adding deep­er dark­ness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness can­not dri­ve out dark­ness; only light can do that. Hate can­not dri­ve out hate; only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King, Jr

1. Have you ever had a disagreement with a loved one that you were able to address while maintaining the spirit of love and respect?  What happened?
2. Have you ever blocked, cancelled, or written someone off in your life for a difference between the two of you?  What was the difference and why was it decided to walk away?
3. God seems to care an awful lot about reconciliation.  Is there an estranged friend or loved one in your life that has wronged you, who would be open to an attempt of reconciliation that can bring them, and you, great healing?