Share and Share Alike

Last Sunday was a children’s sermon. After I preached it, I went home and wondered if the adults understood the radical implications of the story. In 1 Samuel 30 David and his men are on a mission to recover their families and their possessions taken by the Amalekites. Along the way about two hundred men couldn’t make it any further; they stayed by the Besor ravine guarding excess baggage. Four hundred men continued and risked limb and life to defeat the Amalekites. After their victory there is a dilemma in the text: Should the ones who fought in the battle share with those who didn’t? The victors acquired more than just their own possessions. Should they share? There were some men who said, No! Their argument flawless: These men who did not fight can have what they lost but nothing more, no profit, no booty; they did not do anything; we deserve more. It makes perfectly good sense. Those who guarded the baggage did not pay the price. Those who risked their life should receive more. That’s how the world works. But text gives us an alternative to the world. The text refers to these men as “corrupt and worthless” (30.22, NRSV). And then David demanded that everyone share in the victory: “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us . . . For the share of the one who goes down into the battle shall be the same as the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike” (30.23-24).

I believe this has huge implications for us. We often possess an attitude that says, this is mine, I’ve earned it, I’ve worked hard for it. We often argue that everyone could be where we are today, if only they had applied themselves like we have. Is that attitude Godly, I wonder. In the story, David acknowledges that God gave the victory. Such an acknowledgement changes everything. If God is truly the source of all that is, then who am I to claim ownership of anything? The story seems to suggest that since everything comes from God, we must honor God with it. I wonder what this means for us. Any thoughts?