Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-047

KINDNESS BEYOND BORDERS

Reading: 2 Samuel 10:1-19

(From ‘Encounter with God’ Bible Reading Notes)

‘Lord, let goodwill be my partner and generosity my guide today.’

Here is another touching episode showing David’s kindness of heart. He exuded generosity, not only towards the heir of his discredited predecessor but even to an enemy for a good turn he had once done for him. To David, kindness knew no borders.

It did not matter that the Ammonites were Israel’s traditional enemies. In the past, David had been helped by their king, now dead. So he wished to honour him by sending his emissaries to the new king. By their gifts and presence in the Ammonites’ land, he hoped to show his gratitude and help assuage the pain of the royal family.

Today, we seem to have lost this kind of warm generosity. As we get sucked in by the stress of modern life we tend to become hard and calculating. We think the world owes us a living, when reality shows we live only by the grace of others and God.

Unfortunately, David’s gesture of kindness was misconstrued as spying. His show of gratitude was interpreted as a threat; his hand of friendship, as a sword of war. Whisperers in the Court planted suspicions in King Hanun’s mind (v 3), and war resulted.

Today, much of the ill will, cynicism and suspicion we harbour about other races, peoples and cultures comes from narrow minded people who sow intrigue and lies. Thanks to the media, these are repeated so often that they appear to become ‘truths’. Thus, the gossips in King Hanun’s Court did not die with him. Their modern equivalents have only multiplied in our times.

Nevertheless, despite the potential threat of being sabotaged, kindness is unstoppable. We can always choose to be generous and grateful to our friends, and even more to our enemies.

Go out of your way today to do a kind deed to someone you perceive as not ‘one of your kind’, for Jesus’ sake.

– Evelyn Miranda Feliciano (for Wednesday 27 February 2002)

Copyright Scripture Union, 2002

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