Had a recent interaction with someone that really left me vulnerable. As some people know, I went through a season of life where I was a devout Christian in a local non denominational faith. I was taught that the Word of God as found in the Bible has the ability, when shared, to bring about lasting change in someone’s life and help to fortify their experience here in the things they want in their lives instead of the things they are shamed by. I still believe this message. So I’d like to go a little Old Testament with you for a minute. :)
So. David. Same David as David and Goliath. You’ve got a kid, probably in his teens, that hears about a big scary man that has been killing his family members in his tribe, criticizing and laughing at the God that he was raised to respect. He goes out onto the battlefield with a pebble. “David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” 1 Samuel 17:45
Then this kid puts one pebble in a sling, hits the giant in the head, kills him, and cuts off his head.
I feel like good words from God have this kind of power.
One good swing with some good truth or a good story from a good friend has completely realigned, readjusted, and kind of popped my head off my shoulders many times in my life. It doesn’t seem to take much. Though it is possible to go from speaking good things to speaking bad things. Peter said something profound and “Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 16:17. Then Peter said something stupid, “Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’” Matthew 16:23. Maybe it’s good to think of our words as stones or rocks that we are throwing sometimes. I’d be good to look at it before we send it out of our mouths. Before we cause someone to stumble over them.
Let’s go back to David. Kid kills a giant, secretly gets anointed King behind Saul’s back, who was the current King. (Different Saul from New Testament Saul who became Paul) Goes through years of Saul trying to kill him, ends up becoming King officially and leads as a man after God’s own heart for years.
Then one day David sees Bathsheba taking a bath on her rooftop. Dude trips up bad, has sex with her, kills her husband to cover it up, then spends at least 6 months before the prophet Nathan comes and calls him out in 2 Samuel 12.
Hey! You just got the cliff notes from 1 Samuel to 2 Samuel. That’s pretty legit!
So now David’s family has a bunch of weird incest and murders over the next few years. He ends up getting usurped by his son who is trying to kill him and goes into hiding just like he did with Saul.
Now he’s walking down the road one day thinking about how one night completely destroyed his whole life up to that point. He’s gone through a lot since his difficulties with Saul, but now this happens. “As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, ‘Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!’ Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, ‘Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.’But the king said, ‘What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, “Curse David,” who can ask, “Why do you do this?”’ David then said to Abishai and all his officials, ‘My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.’” 2 Samuel 16:5-12.
I’ve also been through many extreme life experiences since I was the one preaching online. Some have been as shameful as David’s time with Bathsheba, others I was a king of my own freedom and happiness. I’ve felt the misery of the curses and the beauty of the blessings.
Recently I had some online conversation with a very passionate Christian. I initiated conversation with him because I was hoping to toss a pebble in his shoe for him to think about as he interacted with people through his life. I feel that a lot of stones were thrown back at me. Yesterday and today it escalated to a point where I chose to block him.
I know where he’s coming from and I love him for being so passionate about what he believes to be right. But the Bible also says look at the fruit. By the end of our interaction I was a liberal, mind controlled, homosexual Palestinian that he felt was criticizing and laughing at the God that he takes very seriously. But he had to throw a lot of stones in order to feel like he was getting his point across.
I want to be like David where I only have to offer one pebble in hopes that it changes someone’s life.
I’m trying to be like Jesus where I can stand for the one being pelted by rocks and ask that we stop throwing things at each other altogether.
I pray that this experience leaves a lesson for me, for the specific individuals directly involved, and for those that read it.
