Buttered Up

Psalms 55:21 (KJV) The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

(Proverbs 25 also read)

David has a lot of concerns that we can identify with in this chapter.  One of them is that people he thought he could trust, his friends, are not what they seem.  At first he talks about how smooth they are at talking.  Underneath the talk, though, is an animosity and a hostility toward David.

When we think of David, we tend to like the stories of Goliath, hiding in the cave, or the victories that he won.  We are aware of Saul trying to kill him.  We know his big sins like his adultery and ordering a murder.  What we often miss is the day-to-day tension of being a king and having people who want to take over your throne.  What is it like to be surrounded by people who want to use you for their own purposes?

I don’t think most of us know what this is like.  We might have a little conflict with family members.  We might have someone at work gossiping about us.  There are conflicts we have, yes, but nothing like David was going through.

So?  Be aware.  Be discerning.  Know that people will be out to get you, especially if you are serving the Lord with gladness.  They can’t seem to stand it when people have the joy of the Lord.  So stand tall, call upon God and trust him to see you through.