Living in the Spirit
June 16, 2015

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 17:32-49

The Philistine said to David, ‘Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.’ But David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied….When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. –1 Samuel 17:44-45, 48-49

When I was in the third or fourth grade, the high school guy with the worst, meanest reputation road my school bus. He actually would later end up in juvenile detention and adult prison. I do not know how much of that I understood or even knew, when I was eight or nine years old. I knew I did not like him picking on me. He was a bully. I also don’t remember ever being taught to fight back to protect myself. My brother was, but I don’t think that was approved behavior for young girls.

In any case, this guy keep reaching over the back of my seat on the school bus and messing with my hair or grabbing at my books. It was an innate reaction on my part. I don’t think I thought about it at all, but with one swift slap of the little purse I was carrying, I creamed his face and cause a very serious nose bleed. I was horrified as blood spurted everywhere, but the entire school bus broke out in gales of laughter. The meanest guy in school had been brought down by a little girl. The bus driver quickly stopped the bus, quieted the rest of the bunch, and attended to the guys nose bleed. I heard him call the guy by his name and say, “You need to stop picking on them”. The driver said nothing to me as I sunk deeper and deeper into my seat mortified that I could do such serious harm.

I honestly cannot remember ever hitting anyone again and have become a very strong supporter of non-violent approaches to solving problems. David’s words still ring true in a non-violent world. We are called to come to [our enemies] in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Peace work is, in fact, just as important for the bully as it is for the oppressed. All of God’s children need to be saved from injustice, even the ones causing it.

Prayer: Lord, teach us your ways so that our innate responses are acts of live not violence. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.