In today's first reading, 1 Sam 18: 6-9; 19: 1-7, the women are celebrating David's victory over Goliath and, in doing so, sing the praises of both David and Saul. They attribute greater success to David than to Saul. Saul immediately becomes jealous of David, to the point of planning to kill him lest he take over the kingship from Saul. Saul's son, Jonathan, intercedes, saying to his father: "Let not your majesty sin against his servant David, for he has committed no offense against you, but has helped you very much by his deeds. [H]e took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel through him. [Y]ou were glad to see it." Saul listens to Jonathan and states: "As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed."
How quickly jealousy can grip us and lead to disastrous plans, including murder! There is no dearth of stories of how families are torn apart by jealousy and how relationships can be destroyed by such. Covetous of another possessions or another's spouse or another's success, a person may succumb to jealousy as did Saul against David! Fearful that another might be more popular than oneself, will secure a position that one desires, win over a hopeful bride/bridegroom, persons may give entertain malicious, jealous thoughts that translate into strong feelings of hate and violence toward another: ruining reputations, causing financial ruin or even loss of life.
What can you and I do when we are struggling with the human weaknesses of jealousy, envy, and covetousness? First of all, pay attention to what we are telling ourselves about a situation. Saul erred in saying to himself: "'They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me. All that remains for him is the kingship'. And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David." He was lying to himself or engaging in, what is called in the world of recovering alcoholics, "stinking thinking." Second of all, we need to know when our thoughts are distorted. Thirdly, we need to reveal our thinking to another person who is strong enough and cares deeply about our well being to the point that he/she will help us recognize distorted thoughts and challenge plans to bring harm to another person in any shape or form, be that physical, spiritual, relational, reputation-wise, or financial. And also, we need to tell Jesus what we are thinking and planning to do and ask for honest feedback.
And finally, thank the Lord for giving us the courage to be honest with ourselves, helping us to come to rightful conclusions, to abandon malicious plans and jealous thoughts.
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