2 Samuel 13

  

Second Samuel Chapter 13, we find the story of Amon and Tamar, and then of Absalom's hatred toward his brother, and then the murder of his brother. The one thing that comes out to me in this is the fact that Absalon, it says, never said a word to Amon. In fact, we don't see that Absalom said anything to anyone. Not to David, not to Amon. He let this hatred simmer in his heart. And it simmered, and it simmered. And two years later, it came out. This is a reminder that if you hold on to bitterness and anger, it eventually leads to evil. Yes, you may never kill your enemy or the person you hate. But Jesus says if we hold on to hatred and bitterness in our heart, then we've already committed the sin of murder. Why is that? Because of our trajectory, our heart is already bent that way. And given enough time, without dealing with it, and without some sort of restraining influence, we too will follow in the steps of Absalon and murder those who have offended us. Now we might say Absalom was justified because the king, David, did nothing. And in one sense, yes. Ammon should have been killed according to the law. But ultimately, it wasn't in Absalom's hands. He was not the judge. He was not the government; his father, David, was. And we don't see that he even went to David and pleaded with him. He just held on to it until he finally worked it out in his life. Be careful what you let stay in your life. And remember this. God says we're to love our enemies, to pray for them. Why? Because ultimately, those actions, those attitudes, I should say, will destroy you, not just those people you hate.

Photo by Hannah Xu on Unsplash