I Samuel 24--Kings and Kingdoms Week 16

Have you ever been treated unjustly? We live in a world today that is hyper vigilant for justice. Every wrong committed needs to be righted. And oftentimes we seek for a sense of vindication for the wrongs that have been done to us. This isn't a bad desire necessarily, but it can easily lead us to try to provide our own vindication from our wrongs rather than trusting God to set things right in his timing. The problem is when we try to right wrongs on our own we often end up doing it in the wrong way.We feel like we have a reason to get upset or hurt and perhaps we might, but that can cause us to give in to the desire to lash out and treat someone else with the very same injustice that we have been treated with ourselves. And it can be easy, all too easy to lash out at those who have mistreated us, or to criticize those who have been against us or even those with whom we disagree. But here's the problem: while we may have legitimately been mistreated or treated in an unjust way, using the same tactics towards that person or persons does not solve the problem. In fact, it makes things much worse. Two wrongs do not make a right. Responding wrongly to another wrong does not resolve the situation. Yet sometimes we think it does, and we are all too willing to take the posture of justice and vindication and let that excuse our unrighteous actions. But it is never right to do wrong in order to produce something that is right.As  we come to our passage for today in I Samuel 24, this is a lesson that David learned. David had been on the run; hiding from Saul in caves. And he had the opportunity to vindicate himself. He was presented with the perfect chance to enact judgment on his enemy and stopped the mistreatment that had been happening in his life. And for a moment David gave in to this compulsion and took steps to get back at his enemy and put him in his place. But we'll find in our text this morning that those who walk with God have a conscience that convicts them and ultimately stops them from using their own unrighteous desires to their advantages. If you've ever struggled with getting even and trying to vindicate yourself under someone in authority over you who has not treated you in the best way, you're going to want to consider this episode in the life of David.