Helping Those Who Have Been Humiliated

484 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 10:3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?" 4 Therefore Hanun took David's servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 When they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, "Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return." ( 2 Sam 10:3-5) David's gesture of kindness to Hanun is met with suspicion and an act of degrading mockery. In the culture of the day a beard was considered a man's greatest ornament. One could even swear by it. ( I wonder if that's where the three little pigs got their line, “Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin?”) A beard could even be offered as a pledge! You know, if I don't make good on this loan you may shave off my beard! Then to add insult to injury, they cut a hole in the back of their pants, exposing their buttocks, (another sign of degradation) and sent them away. The men could buy new britches, but it would take a while for the beards to grow back, so David tells the men to stay in Jericho until they grow back. Jericho was a city of ruins with fallen walls. It was like a deserted town and the men could avoid public shame. I think there is a lesson for us here in how to handle humiliation in the church. Allow me to use an example that unfortunately is becoming more and more prevalent in the church today.....divorce. Try to put yourself in the shoes of a man or woman who had such high expectations for their marriage, only to have the other party walk off. Think of the humiliation the spouse and children must feel. Here the church needs to step in and allow that person a place to recover from their wounds. We don't need to chatter about it and make a public display of it, just love on that person and give them the time and space they need to recover. We need to be their Jericho and help them rebuild the walls of their life. Father I pray for those who are enduring humiliation of any kind. Let us be a people that come alongside and be a part of the healing process.