When it was time to go to battle against the Amalekites, there was a group of people who were exhausted so they stayed back. I can certainly understand exhaustion. Sometimes I barely can find the energy to swing my legs over the edge and rise in the morning due to my health. This group was “too exhausted to follow David” so they stayed behind.
After the battle, they returned with the spoil. Those who went off to fight did not want to share the spoil with the others who stayed back. They didn’t feel those who failed to show up to fight deserved anything. The only thing they considered acceptable was for them to take their wives and children. No more. But David stepped in. He reminded each of them that God gave them everything.
Some people do more than others. It’s a fact. Some people are equipped to do more. Some people are more gifted in some areas than others. Some people are in better health or have the finances to do things others aren’t able to achieve. Each of us is to do our part as if we were doing it all for the Lord. At the end of the day, we each must remember that everything the Lord has given us. We are blessed to be a blessing. We should never cling to it all like it was all ours – share alike. To God be the glory.
“But David said, ‘You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us.’” – 1 Samuel 30:23 [ESV]
Tania Gutekunst 