David's self-compassion(1 Samuel 25:23-31)

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 25:23-31Title: David's self-compassion Samuel is dead. The spiritual leader of the times was doomed. This was also a sign of the departure of a person and the emergence of a new person. Samuel's death caused David to leave the fortress in En Gedi and retreat further south to the wilderness near the desert of Paran. Geographically it was safe because it was farther away from Saul. Unlike En Gedi, it was a land with a wide meadow, which could provide David food. Apparently, David's escape was the time of hunger, disaster, and troubles for him. Nabal was a wealthy man who had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and the day of sheep shearing was the day of preparing a great feast. In particular, it was a day of treating and serving travelers. Since David protected Nabal's flock in Carmel, he sent ten boys to Nabal and asked to share the food as expecting it to be a response to the good deed he had done. (1 Samuel 25:15-16) But Nable’s response was completely opposite from David's expectations. 10 Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. 11 Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?” (1 Samuel 25:10-11) David bursted into a rage when he heard what Nabal said. He was the man of God who was fair and righteous, persevered and tried to discern right in all the tests. But he turned into a completely different person with his unrelenting anger toward Nabal. Why did he suddenly change so much? Why did the man who was patient, fair, and righteous to Saul become so cruel? It was due to David's self-pity and hurt. He was fed up with being persecuted, poor, and miserable while feeling from Saul, and when he was being mistreated by a delinquent man Nabal, he exploded with all his wounds and pains he had had so far. As a result, David almost made a mistake with self-pity – he decided to go kill Nabal’s men. The message of the Bible today is, "Do not forget God’s will by being engulfed in self-pity; do not become self-destructed and destroyed.” Today there are many people who live with the victim mentality. There are those who think that they have always suffered and continually had a loss. But believers do not live with the victim mentality. Affliction does not make victim mentality and self-pity arise, but rather is a process of molding ourselves like a pure hardened gold. During the early Church, the brothers and sisters of faith did not live obssessed by victim mentality or self-pity amid Roman persecution. They lived holy in hope and with gratitude. Wounds mold us into a pure gold and trials train us to become holy. Through this, God molds and makes us. David realized through Abigail that he made a mistake by tripping on self-pity and victim mentality. 28 “Please forgive your servant’s presumption. The Lord your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the Lord’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live. It doesn't take much time to make paper planes. But does it not take a long time to make an actual flying plane? The fact that there is an ordeal means that our goal is not to make the paper plane. Believers are troubled in trials and tribulations, but they must believe that it is something that becomes bitter and painful wounds, but the fine sandpaper that softens us. Therefore, do not fall into self-pity and victim mentality, but use all of this as a training material for the sanctification. David almost made a mistake but could avoid making the mistake. Do not forget God’s will and become self-destructive by indulging in victim mentality and self-pity. Today, and even now, God is molding us like a pure gold.