1 Kings 2:36-41: a reflection

36The king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and live there, and don’t go anywhere else. 37For on the day you go out and pass over the brook Kidron, know for certain that you will surely die. Your blood will be on your own head.” 38Shimei said to the king, “What you say is good. As my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days. 39At the end of three years, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. They told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your slaves are in Gath.” 40Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves; and Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had come again.

Solomon gives Shimei a clear command with a clear penalty: build a house in Jerusalem and stay there; but the day you cross the brook Kidron and leave, you will surely die. Shimei agrees, and lives safely in Jerusalem for years. But then two of his slaves run away, and Shimei, to recover them, saddles his donkey and goes after them, crossing the very boundary he had been forbidden to cross. For the sake of a couple of slaves, he transgressed the clear line that meant his life.

Notice the folly of Shimei's choice: he crossed a known boundary, at the cost of his life, for a small gain. The command was clear, the penalty was clear, and he had lived safely within the boundary for years. But when a lesser thing tempted him, his runaway slaves, he forgot the cost and crossed the line, throwing away his life for a small and temporary gain. The boundary that meant his life was transgressed for the sake of recovering a couple of slaves; the small gain blinded him to the great cost.

That is a caution about how a small temptation can lead us to cross lines that carry great cost. Shimei knew the boundary and the penalty, yet a lesser thing drew him across it, and it cost him everything. We too can know the lines we should not cross, and the cost of crossing them, and yet be drawn across by some small gain that blinds us, for the moment, to the cost. Do not let a small gain or a lesser temptation draw you across a line you know you should not cross. Keep the cost in view; Shimei forgot it for the sake of a couple of slaves, and it destroyed him. When a small thing tempts you to transgress a known boundary that carries great cost, remember Shimei, and do not throw away much for the sake of little. Keep the boundary, and do not let a small temptation blind you to the great cost of crossing it.

Lord, Solomon gave Shimei a clear command with a clear penalty: stay in Jerusalem, but the day you cross the Kidron you will die. Shimei agreed and lived safely for years; but when two slaves ran away, he crossed the very boundary he was forbidden to cross, throwing away his life for a small gain. Caution me by his folly about how a small temptation can lead me to cross lines that carry great cost. Shimei knew the boundary and the penalty, yet a lesser thing drew him across it, and it cost him everything. I too can know the lines I should not cross, and the cost of crossing them, and yet be drawn across by some small gain that blinds me, for the moment, to the cost. Keep me from letting a small gain or a lesser temptation draw me across a line I know I should not cross. Help me keep the cost in view; Shimei forgot it for the sake of a couple of slaves, and it destroyed him. When a small thing tempts me to transgress a known boundary that carries great cost, help me remember Shimei, and not throw away much for the sake of little. Help me keep the boundary, Lord, and not let a small temptation blind me to the great cost of crossing it.