In 1 Samuel 24, David shows self-control in sparing King Saul’s life. Two chapters later, he spares Saul’s life once again. It’s evident that he understood the gravity of those two moments; David knew that it wasn’t God’s will for him to take the life of His anointed. So instead of acting in a place of fear, David responded with an act of graceful restraint.
Just as the Bible shows us what mercy and self-control truly look like, it also teaches us what happens when we allow fear and insecurity take hold of us. We most always react without thinking things through, don’t we?
I think of Moses in Exodus 2, when he observed an Egyptian slavedriver assaulting one of the Hebrew slaves – “one of his own people” – and decided to take matters into his own hands by killing the Egyptian overseer and hiding his body.
The anger that Moses felt from witnessing the oppression and mistreatment of his people had probably been brewing over the years. We might even argue that his anger was understandable, if not even somewhat justifiable. After all, God had plans for Moses to rescue his people from the Egyptians! But just as it wasn’t in God’s will for David to take the life of Saul, neither was it His will for Moses to act as his own agent and kill anyone.
I do sometimes wonder if perhaps Moses’ lack of self-control in that moment of anger ultimately led to Israel having to endure another 40 years of Egyptian slavery?? God only knows….
That moment of Moses’ life reveals something we all recognize if we’re honest: it’s possible to care deeply about what’s right and still respond in the wrong way. Good intentions don’t always lead to godly actions when they’re driven by impulse. Some even suggest that the road to hell is paved with them.
I’ve certainly seen that play out in my own life. There’ve been moments when I felt wronged or misunderstood, and everything in me wanted to respond immediately – to defend myself, to set the record straight. I can remember one specific time when I’d typed out a scathing email to someone in angry frustration. I was so livid and ready to unload! But before I clicked “send”, something told me to step away, take a break, and pray about it. Later that evening I came back to that email draft with a different attitude and deleted it. That moment literally preserved a relationship that I still enjoy all these years later.
But I’ve also suffered from the opposite experience. There was this one time when I spoke too quickly in a heated conversation, allowing my frustration to lead the direction of the discussion instead of wisdom. My words were incredibly unkind and most unhelpful. And even though I couldn’t take them back, I immediately knew I had stepped outside of what God would have wanted from me in that moment. That experience revealed something too – how easily my pride and emotion can take the wheel if I’m not careful.
David shows us what it looks like to trust God with timing and justice, while Moses reminds us what can happen when we react impulsively and take matters into our own hands. Both of those stories invite us to slow down, to listen, and allow God to help us respond in a way that honors Him.
Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
James 1:19-20
Former Blackout Artist 