He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
1 Samuel 24:6-7
“We can’t control the narrative.”
“We have no control over how other choose to react; we can only be responsible our own response.”
“Other people will think what they want and say what they want. We shouldn’t let it affect us.”
“This is an opportunity to love difficult people.”
These were the precepts I kept repeating over and over again through the past months. They are true, and they are helpful. However they are not the easiest to uphold all of the time.
Especially when they are referring to leaders in the church — when the “other people” and the “difficult people” are those who are in a position of power, spinning their own narratives and letting loose their unchecked reactions.
When this happens, I tell myself to close one eye, hold my tongue, still my heart, and center myself in Jesus. I tell my fingers to hold off on sending that text message, or delete it if it had already been typed. I tell my brain to go to the good places, the good thoughts. Because it does not serve anyone, except for the enemy, if I give in to the temptation of going against the Lord’s anointed.
I remember that God is ordered in His steps. I remember that He has a reason for all things. I remember that it is upon me to discern according to His will, obey His commands, and follow His Word.
We are not on earth to pass judgement against anyone else. We are here to love our neighbors as much as God loves them.
And leaders are our neighbors too.