“There is Good in Everyone”

 

BIBLE READING: 11 Samuel 1-3


                After the death of King Saul and Jonathan, the Bible records a lament from David.  Within this lament David refers to Saul as “pleasant and lovely” (2 Samuel 1.23).  Wow!  Wait a minute…I can see David saying this about Jonathan, but Saul.  Isn’t this the same Saul that had made it his life’s mission to kill David?  If I am being honest, if someone was trying to kill me it would be very hard for me to refer to them as “pleasant and lovely”.  How can David say that after all Saul did to him to cause him sorrow and pain?  David’s words in this lament allowed me to see an important Biblical lesson.  Could it be that God wants us to find the good in everyone, even those who cause us pain and suffering? We just might find that when we focus on the good qualities of our enemies, it helps us to turn our hate into love.  Maybe that is what Jesus meant when he said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” (Matthew 5:43-46).  It might be hard to find the good in those who seek to hurt us, but if David could find it in Saul, it’s worth a try.

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