Men in the Bible: A Man Who Blends Integrity with Sensibility
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.” – Genesis 14:22-24
Another lesson we can learn from Abraham was intelligence, which helped him blend integrity with sensibility. He was not an extremist of a sort in his avowal of uprightness. It is not that tilting towards extremes in moral uprightness is bad in itself, but where the feelings, welfare, wellbeing, and dynamics of other people are concerned, being extreme can be a sin in the eyes of God. It was this curious lesson that Jesus spent much of His ministry trying to get the Pharisees to understand.
In the context of our reading today, Abraham, upon his triumphant campaign from his battle with the coalition of kings who took his nephew captive, did more than rescue his relative. He also took bounties of war in his wake upon his victorious campaign.
Upon his return, the King of Sodom, one of the beneficiaries of the campaign gladly offered to give Abraham all the bounties he recovered from the kings he defeated. However, Abraham had his own reservations about the king of Sodom. So he bluntly told the latter that he had vowed to God not to take anything for himself from the spoils he took from the enemies. That was a demonstration of integrity in itself.
It is one thing to make a vow when you do not have anything that can tempt you. It is another thing, however, to keep such vows when one is presented with tempting attractions that could make one reconsider the vow. Abraham might have found himself in this position as well. He might have been tempted by the sheer number of booties he claimed from the coalition of kings he went to fight.
However, he had made a vow about what he would do in the aftermath of the battle. He would not take anything for himself so that the king of Sodom would not have the bragging right that he was the one who made Abraham rich. Abraham did not want to mix God’s blessing with humans’ blessing. He stuck to his gun and did not accept the invitation of the king of Sodom to take the booty for himself. But then he did not stop there. Listen to him:
“I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High… that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.” – Genesis 14:22-24
The real lesson here is that Abraham did not say because he himself was not going to collect anything from the bounties of war, therefore the men who accompanied him to the battle, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, should also not take anything for themselves. He was sensitive enough to consider his companions’ needs, even when those men were lower than him in stature, and would have opted to align with his resolution of no bounty. He did not put them in a difficult position that would make them look bad on account of his own constitution. He did not ride roughshod on their collective sensitivities because they were lower in rank than he was. That was integrity with sensibility.
On the contrary, even before his companions voiced their support for his stand or their protestation at his deprivation, Abraham was very proactive and sensitive to their aspirations by communicating the caveat in his terms to the king of Sodom: Yes, he was not taking anything for himself, but these three men must be allowed to take what they consider fair and appropriate for their efforts and risks. He did not use his own stance to hush them up or disregard their needs. That is an easy error the upright frequently make.
That is why this lesson cannot be over-emphasized for the apostles of moral rectitude who use their own liberty to override the needs and aspirations of others in their circle, either because such people are subordinate to them or do not have much say in the matter. There are some seemingly right stances we can make that will dangerously trample someone else or undermine their dignity, if we cross that line we may unwittingly offend God Himself. Wisdom is profitable to direct.
Selah!
Also read:
- Men in the Bible: The First Man to Tithe
- The Benefits of Wisdom: Promotion
- Principles from God
- The Harness of the LORD
- I Stood In The Cabin Holding On To The Gospel
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