revivalist PDF template - God's Bible School & College

the
president’s
page
HOW TO HANDLE HURTING WORDS
by Michael R. Avery, President
Read II Samuel 16:5–14 and 19:15–23
The humiliation of David’s temporary exile in the
face of Absalom’s anarchy had to be one of the
lowest moments of his long reign. But as he fled
Jerusalem insult was added to injury, for a man named
Shimei followed him shouting curses. Shimei’s accusation
was that David was getting what he deserved
because he was a murderous man—guilty of the “blood
of the house of Saul.”
Shimei couldn’t possibly have spoken more unjust
and hurtful words. If David was innocent of anything it
was the blood of Saul. He had spent years in exile to
keep Saul from killing him. He had refused to speak evil
of Saul, take advantage of Saul’s fractious kingdom, or
even lay a hand on Saul, even though the Lord had
delivered Saul into David’s hand again and again. If anything
in the world was untrue, this charge was untrue!
Why Shimei’s Criticism
The Bible tells us that Shimei was of the house of
Saul. So when Saul’s kingdom ended, it brought about the demise of all the influence, power, and financial advantage
that Saul’s relatives had enjoyed for years. Shimei just couldn’t let it go and was still carrying the old family
grudge. David’s misfortune gave Shimei the opportunity to vent all those years of stored-up malice. The timing and
boldness of Shimei’s remarks were fueled by three things: first, he thought he could verbally assault David safely
since David was fleeing for his own life; second, he knew the taunt about Saul would hurt David the most at this
particular moment; and third, he believed that God was now on his side. Shimei was sure that David was fleeing for
his life because God has deposed him!
David’s Response
David refused to say anything to Shimei! He did, though, speak words of restraint to his inner circle who wanted
to remove Shimei’s head. David’s silence toward Shimei and his response to his friends offer some valuable
insight on how we should respond to hurting words or unfair accusations.
1. Develop a tough hide. One can’t have a china-doll fragility about every little thing someone says (Eccl.
7:21–22). One of the benchmarks of spiritual maturity is that we have gained enough confidence in who we
are in Christ and of His unwavering love for us that the actions and words of others no longer have the (p19)➡
SEPTEMBER 2009
03