During the 2016 electioneering campaign in the United States, the wife of the then-
outgoing president, Michelle Obama made her now-famous catchphrase – “When they
go low, we go high”.
Though no name was mentioned, it was a veiled reference to Donald Trump’s vicious
and abusive campaign strategy. Since that time, Michelle has been asked severally
whether her persuasion still holds sway. She affirmed that it is the only thing that works.
That is the only way not to go low to the same debased level that one is trying to
correct.
“You will always be tempted to pay people back in their own coin. If you fall for that, you become as guilty as they are.”
David lived by this code – going up when some chose to go low. King Saul came to the
lowest point when he began to pursue him. For no justifiable reason, Saul took aim at
David and made life miserable for him. David later had the opportunity to kill the king
which he rejected. He still regarded Saul as God’s anointed king. If David had gone for
revenge, he would have gone low like Saul. In our text, we see that David went high
again. An average person with David’s experience would probably have sought how to
eliminate everything and everyone connected to Saul, no matter how remote. However,
he sought to bless any remaining descendant of Saul. Thus, David lived in the spirit of
the gospel which teaches us to not repay evil with evil but to overcome evil with good.
You will always be tempted to pay people back in their own coin. If you fall for that, you
become as guilty as they are.