Kill them with Kindness/ Kindness Avails Much

For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore, may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done today 1 Samuel 24:19

These were Saul's words after David spared his life. A great heart avails much more. Once upon a time, there was Saul, the first King of Israel anointed by God; and then there was David, also anointed by God to take over Saul. See, Saul had disobeyed God and so God took the anointing from him. Saul knew this and with time he figured out who was to take over him; David, the young man who used to play music for him to ease his soul; the boy who had killed Israel's terror, Goliath and the man whom they said "Saul killed thousands and David killed ten thousands." You pretty much see the point now. Saul sought to kill him, so David fled.

The rest of David's life as long as Saul was alive, was pretty much spent in hiding. When he was free (no wars to fight), Saul was looking for David. Two times when Saul was searching for him, David had the opportunity to strike him, but he would not. And what should have stopped him? Saul was out to get him and David knew that he had been anointed as king over Saul. Contrary, he always showed much respect to Saul and he would not lay his hand upon him, just because Saul in the first place had been anointed by God as King. Even in those two occasions that it seemed like Saul had been delivered by God into his hands, David did not the take matter into his hands.

On one of the occasions, when Saul was searching for David, he went into the cave where David and his men were hiding "to attend to his needs". Instead of striking Saul, David cut off the corner of Saul's clothing without Saul noticing. Saul left unharmed. Afterwards, David called out him asking why Saul was pursuing him, when he had no intentions of harming Saul. He then showed him the piece of fabric he had cut off from Saul's robe, as proof that he had spared his life.

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of Your Father in heaven;.. Matthew 5:44,45

The thing about showing kindness to people even when they have tried to or have harmed us, is the effect it has, not only in their lives, but also in our lives. When Saul saw this, he broke down and wept blessing David, ironically, even blessing David's anointing as seen in 1Samuel 24:16-22. "And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand." When I was reading this I wondered, 'does this guy realise he is blessing David's kingdom, the same person he has been seeking out for the longest time?'. Maybe it was the feeling of being overwhelmed, by the fact that the person he has been trying to kill just spared his life. The royalty of kindness I would say, to the person showing it, blessings and more blessings; or it is just the mysterious way that God works.

I wonder though, was it maybe just a test on David and a proof of his character, not only for the glory of God, but also to his country's-men. Someone probably always gave a testimony about the events that unfolded. And what did his followers, his men, pick from this event? Maybe at first they thought he was crazy or foolish. But then it happened again and each time Saul blessed him and David remained respectful to Saul 1Samuel 26. After the two events, the men probably saw a man that they could be loyal to. A man who could not only lead Israel to victory in wars, but who could also lead the country in wisdom. One more thing I learnt from this however is that David saw no need to go out of his way, to the degree of sinning against God, to gain what God had already given him freely.