Self-Control

Self-control comes next in the less well-known story of King David from 1 Samuel 25: 2-39. David was in the wilderness near the lands of Nabal. Nabal is a rich man whom David had done a favor for in the past--taking care of some of his men and sheep. David has asked that Nabal give his men some food from the feast that he has prepared, but Nabal accuses them of lying and sends them away. When David hears this he calls for his men to prepare to wipe out Nabal. Nabal's beautiful and clever wife, Abigail, hears what Nabal has done and calls for her servants to gather food and gifts and sends them to David. She follows and throws herself at his mercy, asking for him to spare her husband and not have blood upon his hands. David then praises God for sending Abigail and stopping him in the heat of his anger.

We talked of the difficulty of self-control over our feelings and emotions as well as over our actions. That we often need help outside of ourselves to keep our self-control. We need an Abigail to remind us that how we behave and think are up to us and are our responsibility.

When I read this story, I am reminded of Donald Duck cartoons in which he gets very mad. The red rises from his collar to the top of his head with steam pouring out of his ears (?!) until there is an explosion of rage with yelling and kicking and bouncing around. This explosion ultimately leads to an apology for losing control (in the cartoon, in life we often live with guilt for quite awhile before apologizing).

I challenged them to come up with some strategies to keep self-control--counting to 10 (or 4), deep breaths, walking away, talking to someone, prayer, and to use them in the coming days with fellow campers and changing plans...