Disrespectful

 DEVOTION

2^ND SAMUEL

DISRESPECTFUL

2 Sam 10:1-5

10:1 In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David's men came to the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Hasn't David sent them to you to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?" 4 So Hanun seized David's men, shaved off half of each man's beard, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, "Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back."

NIV

Why was an act or an expression of kindness met with an act or expression of disrespect? Once again, we see David responding to kindness with kindness, but the son of Nahash did not care about that; but listened to his advisors and acted in a manner that was rude, cruel, and disrespectful to David, but even more so to the delegation David sent to express sympathy. We would think that would never happen in the community of faith today, because we all live in harmony and peace with one another. We would never act in any manner of disrespect toward each other, but then we think about how gossip might be a form of disrespect. Then we think about how being prideful can be disrespectful or how jealousy or envy could be signs of disrespect. Anything that would lead us to think more highly of ourselves than others brings us right into the expression of disrespect. It might be possible that we may even cause someone to become humiliated when we correct them, even with truth, but have no grace. No one enjoys being told they had acted or thought wrongly just for the sake of proving we are right, even with the motive of helping them, for to be humiliated, such as the men of David’s delegation were, is simply unkind or unthinking. David had the men hide themselves until they could face others with mutual respect. This is the truth of the gospel, mutual respect and love, as all are equal in the eyes of the Lord. He does not show favoritism and therefore, if we are being transformed into his likeness, as we are told, we should make every effort to live in peace with everyone. In Addition, because we are filled with the Spirit, we should be showing the signs of his fruit within us, which include kindness, gentleness, goodness, patience, love, joy, peace, and self-control, so that we would never be disrespectful.