Act Wisely

​In I Samuel 18:5 we read about David, who was a very young man, but God chose him to do great things for the Kingdom.  He was working in the palace of the King (Saul) and the Bible says "David behaved wisely wherever Saul sent him."

Further down in the chapter, verse 14, we read "David acted wisely in all his ways and succeeded and the Lord was with him."

Even further down in verse 30 it says, "David had more success in battle because he behaved himself more wisely than all Saul's servants."

Three times in one chapter we are told how David behaved wisely.  What a message to young people!  And...not only to young people, but to all of us.  How much heart ache and misery could be avoided if all of us "behaved wisely."  

Sad to say, later on, in II Samuel chapter 11 we see David NOT behaving wisely.  He sent his men into battle without him.  He should have been on the battlefield with them.  Had he "behaved wisely" he would have been!  He would not have been at home on his rooftop watching a woman bathe.  

As I look back over my life, I realize more and more that all of the mistakes I made and all the sins I committed were because I wasn't behaving wisely.  Perhaps I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Instead of being on the battlefield fighting for right and for justice, I was walking around on my rooftop enjoying the cool evening breeze.

God has a job for each of us.  We have to behave wisely though, and we have to pay attention when He tells us it is time to go into battle.  My prayer for all of us, His followers, is that as time for the end draws near, we will listen to Him, behave wisely and be ready to go into battle at a moments notice.

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Image:  Study of King David, by Julia Margaret Cameron.  Depicts Sir Henry Taylor, 1866.