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“And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways” (1 Samuel 18:14).
“Saul saw that he (David) behaved himself very wisely” (1 Samuel 18:15).
“David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul” (1 Samuel 18:30).
In spite of his victory over Goliath, David found himself in a difficult situation. The people praised him, and liked him better than king Saul. Saul hated David as a result, and wanted to get rid of him. But David acted properly before the Lord, and was wise in how he conducted himself. He was loyal to Saul, yet kept careful watch on the whole situation, for he knew he was in danger.
We get good advice in the New Testament for similar situations. The Lord Jesus told his disciples to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). What does this mean? It means that we are to show this world the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Galatians 5:22-23). At the same time, we are to remember that we are in an enemy’s land. We are to behave ourselves wisely, watching out for attacks of Satan, and relying on the Lord to keep us.
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