KINDNESS
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Opening Prayer
Thank you, Gracious God, for teaching me through your Word, showing me how to come to you, to live for you, and proclaim your goodness to those around me.
Read 1 SAMUEL 20:1—17
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
1 Samuel
1 Samuel 20
1 Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to kill me?”
2 “Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn’t so!”
3 But David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”
4 Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.”
5 So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon feast, and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow.
6 If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’
7 If he says, ‘Very well,’ then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me.
8 As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the Lord. If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”
9 “Never!” Jonathan said. “If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?”
10 David asked, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
11 “Come,” Jonathan said, “let’s go out into the field.” So they went there together.
12 Then Jonathan said to David, “I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, that I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know?
13 But if my father intends to harm you, may the Lord deal with Jonathan, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away in peace. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father.
14 But show me unfailing kindness like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed,
15 and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.”
17 And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.
Reflect
Think about your closest friends and ask for God’s blessing upon their lives. Why do you appreciate them? Give thanks to God for the precious gift of friendship.The relationship between Jonathan and David provides an example of true friendship, but here it comes under strain. Both men need reassurance that their friendship can withstand the stress placed upon it by Saul’s hostility toward David. Will Jonathan remain true to David when pressured by his father? Will David remember Jonathan’s loyalty when he comes to power?
Their friendship is based on covenant, a spoken agreement to be true to each other (18:1—4, 20:16, 17). We seldom make our commitment to friends so explicit, but the bond is demonstrated through our consistent kindness and thoughtfulness. The assurance of such continuing care is what both men seek at this perilous time (vv. 8, 14).
Kindness is underrated, but it is a fruit of the Spirit and a key ingredient in lasting relationships. It means to act considerately, to care practically, and to seek the welfare and well-being of the other even at personal cost. It is love expressed in actions and words.
When we are kind to others, we feel better in ourselves. Kindness is one of the most beautiful and powerful forces in life, a reflection of God’s nature.
Apply
Is there a friendship you value that is currently under strain? How can you express kindness and loyalty in this situation?
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, help me to act with kindness wherever I go and toward everyone I meet—especially when it is a challenge for me to do so.
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