When David received news that King Saul was killed in battle, he “took hold on his clothes, and rent them.” (2 Sam. 1:11) Then David wrote a song – a funeral dirge – in honor of him. If you are not familiar with the story of Saul and David this may sound normal, but if you remember the story of Saul & David, this sounds unthinkable! David, writing and singing a song in honor of Saul!? The Saul who rebelled against the LORD and refused to obey Him? The Saul that tried to fasten David’s body to the wall with his spear – on more than one occasion? The Saul that ran David out of Israel, raised a national slander campaign against him, and caused many in Israel to disdain him? The Saul that didn’t give David his rightful wife, and then later took away David’s wife and gave her to another man? The Saul that persistently tried to hunt David down to kill him around Israel? The Saul that David could have killed on multiple occasions, but spared his life, and then that same Saul still continued to seek his life? The Saul that turned demonic and sought familiar spirits because the LORD left him? The Saul that tried to kill his own son, David’s best friend (Jonathan)? 

Saul was David’s worst enemy. He made David’s life miserable for many, many years (I’m not sure how long, but I think it was at least 10 years, maybe 15 years?). Yet, in Saul’s death, David chose to honor him, and to encourage others to honor him. How would you have felt about Saul if you were David? How would you have spoken about him at his funeral? I think that most people if they were David would have killed Saul at the first opportunity they received. Most would have rejoiced at Saul’s death. Most people would have publicly used Saul as an example of God’s just judgment on someone who is in disobedience and rebellion. But David did not do any of this. He honored Saul. This is the heart of what I would like to relay from this story: we should be people of honor. We should do our absolute best to highlight the good about other people, and choose to keep silent about their shortcomings. Titus 2:8 says that we should have “Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.” 

In David’s lamentation, he called Saul “the beauty of Israel.” “Saul and Jonathan were lovey and pleasant in their lives…they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.” He reminded the people of Saul’s accomplishments and the good things that he had done for Israel. Again, you can look back and easily recount the bad things Saul did – raising taxes on people, robbing families of their youth so they could serve in his army, sacrificing the good of the nation so he could search after David, etc. But David chose to honor Saul. 

How do you speak about your parents? Do you murmur and complain about them or do you intentionally highlight the good they have done for you? How about your teachers or pastors? Or your superiors at work? Or the leaders of your state/country? You say, “They are not godly.” Neither was Saul. “Well, they haven’t done anything worth being honored for.” Are you sure about that? Everyone has some kind of redeeming quality to them – especially those who are amidst the people of God. “They sinned and God punished them, we should point out this lesson to the world.” Do you think the people of Israel didn’t know about Saul’s disobedience and the consequent judgment on him? God doesn’t need us to speak evil of people in order to get the lesson across. 

Are there Christian leaders who fall? Yes, but be very careful about quickly, and freely speaking evil of them. If we follow David’s example we will publicly highlight the good that came out of their lives. Can God shoot straight shots with a crooked arrow? Whatever it was in David that felt compelled to highlight Saul’s goodness, I want that in me. I’m sure David received a lot of flak for honoring Saul. People probably charged David with evil for honoring Saul, but he did the right thing. 

None of this is to say that we should overlook sin – we should never do that. All sin should be confronted and dealt with. There are also consequences for sin that should not be disregarded. But the focus here is on how you personally process someone’s life who has done evil, and how you speak of them publicly. I hope you take David’s course of action, which is to honor that person. 

Have we not all done evil? How do we want our reputation to be in public? How do we want to be remembered at our funeral? Would we not want people to remember and highlight the good things we had done, and the redeeming qualities of our life and character? Be slow to see the bad in others, and quick to see it in yourself. Be quick to highlight your own faults and slow to highlight others. 

May God help us, like David, to be people of honor and great respect towards all people – especially to those in the faith; to trust God for outcomes and the reputation of others, and to justify us in due time, not by our own strength or manipulation, but by His own mighty power. 

The example of David is so powerful here. I encourage you to speak well of even your worst enemy. Don’t be fake; don’t lie, but be gracious and honorable. Vengeance belongs to God – He will repay. Your enemy, if they truly are in the wrong, will have to pay. How glorious is it, that David spoke well of his enemy, and in the end God exalted him above his foe! 

“Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:20-21)