I believe in right and wrong. As an Enneagram 9, who (for the most part) can always see both sides, can empathize with anyone and is always fighting for the middle ground, that first statement is said through clenched teeth. A sentence so direct, so final, so definitive is rarely spoken by me as I truly desire peace with everyone, and a lot of the time, “peace with everyone” can feel like not upsetting anyone. I’ve found myself challenging this notion lately (probably because I’ve been “leaning into my 8 wing” as Derrick puts it) and this passage of scripture seems to show us what it looks like to truly desire God’s heart in right living.

During this time in Davids life, he has many opportunities to define righteousness and claim the “moral high ground”. He gets the chance to deploy justice first hand a multitude of times, yet chooses a different approach for both a widely known “evil man,” as well as his pursuer, and would be murderer Saul! To me, this passage truly encapsulates a man after God’s own heart: a man who knows what is right, has a desire to enact change in his environment, but ultimately leaves everything to God.

While that sentiment sounds nice in theory, I can already hear the objections: “Uh, False. We’re called to be people of action. You go ahead and leave it to God, Imma go fix the world.” To not to sound too contradictory or 9 like, I completely agree! I would like to pose a question though:

How can David’s example of recognizing injustice and desiring change but actively and intentionally trusting God inspire us to be both active and inactive agents of God’s will?

David knew what right and wrong was. David knew that people who habitually did wrong had it coming to them. David had the power and the skill to fix it! So why didn’t he act? Why did he choose to relinquish control over and over? We know the end of the story, but he didn’t. I challenge all of us to ponder this. Because I’m not sure you can truly know what is right and wrong without seeking what God says (and does) about the righteous and the wicked.

May 22, 2018