2 Samuel 1:6-10: a reflection

6The young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance on Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul was leaning on his spear; and behold, the chariots and the horsemen followed close behind him. 7When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9He said to me, ‘Please stand beside me, and kill me, for anguish has taken hold of me because my life lingers in me.’ 10So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

When a young Amalekite brings David news of Saul's death, he tells a story clearly shaped to win David's favor: he claims to have finished off the dying Saul at Saul's own request, and he brings David the fallen king's crown and bracelet. Whether or not his account was true, his aim is plain: he hoped to profit from Saul's death, to gain reward and favor by presenting himself as the one who had ended David's rival and by bringing the royal tokens. He sought to turn another's downfall and death into his own advantage. This is a sobering picture of opportunism: seeking to profit from another's misfortune or downfall, to gain advantage from a tragedy. The Amalekite tried to make Saul's death his own opportunity, hoping for reward. To seek advantage from another's misfortune or downfall, to profit from a tragedy, is a wrong that treats another's ruin as our opportunity. The Amalekite hoped to gain from Saul's death; opportunism from another's downfall is a real wrong. To profit from another's misfortune is to trade on their ruin.

Notice the Amalekite's aim: to profit from Saul's death and downfall. He shaped his story to present himself as the one who had ended David's rival, and brought the royal crown and bracelet, clearly hoping for reward and favor. His interest was in the advantage he could gain from the tragedy, the profit he could make from another's downfall and death. This is a real and ugly thing: to look at another's misfortune, ruin, or death and see chiefly an opportunity for our own advantage, to seek to profit from their downfall. The Amalekite did not mourn Saul; he saw in Saul's death a chance for his own gain. To treat another's misfortune as our opportunity, to seek advantage from their downfall or ruin, is a wrong that trades on others' suffering for our own benefit. It is the opposite of compassion, which grieves another's misfortune; opportunism exploits it. To look for our own gain in another's tragedy is to trade on their ruin. Others' misfortune is not to be our opportunity for gain. Compassion grieves what opportunism exploits.

That is worth taking to heart, for it is wrong to seek advantage from another's misfortune or downfall, treating their ruin as our opportunity. We can look at another's misfortune, ruin, or downfall and see chiefly an opportunity for our own advantage, seeking to profit from it, as the Amalekite hoped to gain from Saul's death. But to trade on another's suffering or downfall for our own benefit is a real wrong, the opposite of compassion. Others' misfortune is not to be our opportunity for gain. Do not seek advantage from another's misfortune or downfall, treating their ruin as your opportunity; that is a wrong, as the Amalekite's hope to profit from Saul's death shows. Do not seek to profit from another's misfortune or downfall, treating their ruin as your opportunity for gain, as the Amalekite hoped to win David's favor and reward by presenting himself as the one who had ended Saul and bringing the royal tokens; for to look at another's tragedy and see chiefly a chance for our own advantage, to trade on their suffering or downfall for our benefit, is a real wrong, the opposite of the compassion that grieves another's misfortune, so that others' ruin is not to be our opportunity for gain but an occasion for compassion rather than opportunism.

Lord, when a young Amalekite brings David news of Saul's death, he tells a story clearly shaped to win David's favor: he claims to have finished off the dying Saul at Saul's own request, and he brings David the fallen king's crown and bracelet. Whether or not his account was true, his aim is plain: he hoped to profit from Saul's death, to gain reward and favor by presenting himself as the one who had ended David's rival. He sought to turn another's downfall and death into his own advantage. This is a sobering picture of opportunism: seeking to profit from another's misfortune or downfall. Show me the Amalekite's aim: to profit from Saul's death and downfall. He shaped his story to present himself as the one who had ended David's rival, and brought the royal tokens, hoping for reward. His interest was in the advantage he could gain from the tragedy. This is a real and ugly thing: to look at another's misfortune, ruin, or death and see chiefly an opportunity for my own advantage. The Amalekite did not mourn Saul; he saw in Saul's death a chance for his own gain. To treat another's misfortune as my opportunity is a wrong that trades on others' suffering for my benefit. It is the opposite of compassion, which grieves another's misfortune. Take that to my heart, for it is wrong to seek advantage from another's misfortune or downfall, treating their ruin as my opportunity. I can look at another's misfortune and see chiefly an opportunity for my own advantage, as the Amalekite hoped to gain from Saul's death. But to trade on another's suffering for my benefit is a real wrong. Keep me from seeking to profit from another's misfortune or downfall, treating their ruin as my opportunity for gain, Lord, as the Amalekite hoped to profit from Saul's death; help me meet others' misfortune with compassion rather than opportunism.