A Lesson from 2 Samuel 16

Valeriu Gafencu and his family had lost their father and had suffered greatly at the hands of Communist torturers. Yet he had nothing bad to say about the Communists who had brought so much pain to his family. How could he put up with so much and not speak out against his torturers?

    He answers: “When King David was in a bad predicament, Shimei threw stones at him, cursed him, and accused him of crimes he didn’t commit (2 Samuel 16). One of David’s soldiers was ready to kill Shimei, but David stopped him. He let Shimei curse, for the Lord had ordered him. David knew himself to be innocent of what Shimei accused him of, but he also recognized that he was guilty of other sins of which Shimei knew nothing.

    “The Communists call us bandits and enemies of the people, which we’re not. But we all are guilty of not being exemplary saints growing more like Christ. Our reply to the Communists’ misdeeds should not be hatred but inner renewal. Beams of holiness gushing from us will destroy the evil. The Greek word for God, theos, comes from a word that means ‘to gush.’”

    Gafencu’s witness in prison brought many to Christ. And until the day he died, he refused to say one bad word against those who caused him pain.

Does an enemy deserve to be honored? Perhaps it is difficult to think along those lines. We can learn, however, from the persecuted church that God can use even our enemies to bring us closer to God. In that sense, we can honor the role our enemies play in our lives. If we revile our enemies, we may be showing contempt for God’s greater plan. If you are busy cursing your enemies for the way they treat you, stop and think why God has allowed the situation in your life. Are you making it easier or harder for God to teach you something through this? If so, you’ll surely face it again until you learn.

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