Friday, May 20

Show kindness

Scripture: 2 Samuel 9-10, 2 Corinthians 4

2 Samuel 9:1 David asked, “Is there anyone remaining from the family of Saul I can show kindness to for Jonathan’s sake?”

2 Samuel 10:1–2 Some time later, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place. 2 Then David said, “I’ll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” 

Observation

I had never noticed before that these two stories both open with David desiring to show kindness to someone: to Jonathan’s family (Mephibosheth), and to the king of the Ammonites (Hanun).  In both cases, David was repaying kindness shown to him by Jonathan and by Nahash.  

David wanted to honor Jonathan by showing kindness to his son, and he wanted to honor the memory of king Nahash by showing kindness to his son.  

But both recipients had reason to be wary.  David had been at war with Saul’s family; consequently, they were in hiding and David had to ask to discover if any of Jonathan’s descendants were still alive.  Mephibosheth had good reason to fear for his life.  And king Hanun’s advisors warned him that David’s emissaries were really there to spy out the city, not show respect for Hanun’s dead father.  In the end, Mephibosheth accepted David’s kindness and Hanun rejected it, resulting in war.

Sadly, war resulted from a misunderstood kindness. Had Hanun made the effort to understand David’s motive, their friendship would have been strengthened and their nations been allied.

Application

A couple things:

First, what friend could I honor today?  “Outdo one another in showing honor.” Romans 12:10. We honor one another with words, but also with kindness. How could I show kindness to a friend today? Look for ways to show kindness and honor others.

Second, don’t assume you know another’s motives, and don’t make negative attributions. “I know why you did that.” No, you don’t. Rather than making a negative assumption, go to the source and ask. And if you can’t ask, assume the best. And show kindness. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to honor others today by showing kindness…whether it is deserved or not. Help me to assume the best rather than the worst!