14 But one of Naval’s men told Avigayil his wife, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master, and he flew on them in a rage, 15 even though the men had been very good to us — they didn’t harm us, and we found nothing missing during the entire time we went with them, while we were out in the countryside. 16 They served as a wall protecting us day and night all the time we were with them caring for the sheep. 17 So now decide what you are going to do, for clearly harm is on its way to our master and all his household, but he’s so mean that no one can tell him anything.”
18 Avigayil wasted no time in taking 200 loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already prepared, six quarts of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins and 200 fig cakes, and having them loaded on donkeys. 19 Then she said to her young men, “Go on ahead of me, and I’ll come along after you.” But she didn’t tell her husband Naval.
20 She was riding her donkey down past the hiding-place in the mountain, when David and his men descended toward her, and she met them. 21 David had said, “What a waste it has been guarding everything this fellow has in the desert, so that nothing of his was missing! He has repaid me bad for good!” 22 Then he swore, “May God do the same and more to David’s enemies if I leave alive even one male of everything he owns.”
23 When Avigayil saw David, she hurried to dismount from her donkey, fell on her face in front of David and bowed down to the ground. 24 Having fallen at his feet, she said, “It’s all my fault, my lord, all my fault! Please let your servant speak in your ears, and listen to what your servant says. 25 Please! My lord shouldn’t pay any attention to this worthless fellow Naval, because he’s just like his name — ‘Naval’ means ‘boor,’ and his boorishness stays with him. But I, your servant, did not see my lord’s men, whom you sent. 26 Therefore, my lord, as Adonai lives, and as you live, inasmuch as Adonai has kept you from the guilt of shedding blood and from taking vengeance into your own hands — therefore, may your enemies and anyone seeking your harm be [as worthless] as Naval. 27 Meanwhile, let this present which your servant has brought to my lord be given to the men in my lord’s service.
(Complete Jewish Bible).Whenever we encounter a person who views life differently than us, there is the opportunity for conflict. The fact that no two people in the world view life exactly the same means conflict exists all around us. That is the reality of living life with other people. The question is not whether we will face conflict, but rather, how will we respond to conflict when we do face it.
The very nature of conflict means there are two opposing sides that believe they are in the right. Peacemaking is the process by which those two opposing sides come together and agree on a position somewhere in the middle. If either side demands the other comes fully to their side, that is not peacemaking; that is conquering.
Peacemaking is humbling because it requires us to loosen our grip on what we think is right, no matter how justified we think we are, in order to take a step toward the other. Abigail’s actions in 1 Samuel 25 remind us that peacemaking is especially humbling when we are the first to take that step toward reconciliation. May we remember that we are not called to always be right. We are called to always be peacemakers.
Hymn for Today: "I would Be True" by Howard A. Walter.
1. I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare,
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.
2. I would be friend of all, the foe, the friendless;
I would be giving, and forget the gift;
I would be humble, for I know my weakness;
I would look up, and laugh, and love, and lift,
I would look up, and laugh, and love, and lift. Amen.
Thought for Today: For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve — and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45).
Please pray: For faculty and students as they prepare for Christian ministry in Thailand.
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