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1 Samuel 24:10-

The story of Saul’s jealousy for David is one that we may repeat within ourselves if we are not careful to be happy with what we have been given. But Saul’s jealousy was not the point that really caught my attention. Despite all that David had suffered in hiding from Saul- the loss of his home, his wife, his security- when given the chance to end Saul’s life and live again without fear, David chose to spare Saul’s life. Saul had taken refuge in a cave to rest. David and his men, hidden in the same cave, are in the perfect place to calmly and quietly end Saul’s pursuit and bring back peace. Why didn’t David follow through? Why choose to let Saul live knowing he would not stop his attempts to murder David? David’s choice in sparing the Lord’s anointed showed more than mercy, he showed faith in God and obedience to His commandments.

We are commanded to sustain the Lord’s anointed. This can be difficult when we know that these men and women are as human and fallible as we.

I thought about my difficult childhood that was marred by unrighteous leaders. It took me years to be able to reach a time when I could forgive them. I have learned that the church is led by men. These men are far from perfect, and they can be expected to make many mistakes and to sin. Since there was only ever one perfect person to walk this earth, this truth should be considered common sense. Unfortunately, we often forget that. It is easy to think that those set apart to lead us must be righteous to lead us. Since this is not the case, we are often disappointed. It is important that we remember that our leaders are human and prone to the same human frailties we face. We sustain them in understanding of God's higher purposes and in faith that God knows all. We sustain them because they need our help as much as we need theirs.

No matter your religious affiliation, we rely on leaders to unite us. Without leadership, there is chaos. When leaders break laws and cause harm, we are expected to speak up. But, this does not give us the right to take the law into our own hands to become judge, jury, and executioner. We who are just as imperfect must rely on the laws we have been given both in heaven and in earth. Our earthly judicial systems are not perfect, but they are ours. We become worse than those who have offended when we act  against our laws to seek an unrighteous justice.