Knowing When To Say When
"The King told the troops, "I will march out with you...But the men said, "it would be better for you to give us support from the City (2 Samuel 18:2-3 NIV)
On September 12th, the legendary boxer Mike Tyson will return to the ring. He will fight Roy Jones, Jr. (also a highly regarded former boxing champion in multiple weight classes) in an exhibition match. Tyson is 54. Jones is 51. I must confess that while part (a very small part) of me is secretly curious to see two former champions spar, another part (a very big part) of me is absolutely horrified by the prospect of watching two middle aged men beat each other up. When asked for the rationale behind his return, Tyson shared that "the gods of war have reawakened me. They’ve ignited my ego and want me to go to war again…." Perhaps both men will defy Father time and emerge unscathed. And while I applaud their courage, I question their wisdom.
Unlike Barry Saunders or Calvin Johnson (both of whom played football for the Detroit Lions and retired in their prime), most athletes (especially many of the great ones), extend their careers well past their prime, an extension that often leads to tragically sad outcomes. I don't recall seeing too many highlight films of Michael Jordan during his final years with the Washington Wizards. Knowing when to say when is an ancient dilemma that not only affects athletes, but all of us.
The Bible provides a resolution of this dilemma in a marvelous scene in the final years of David. David is one of the greatest warriors of history. The scriptures do not contain a single instance of David ever losing a battle. His first fight was against a nine foot giant who he easily mastered at the ripe age of 17! He got weary only once, but he never lost. Ever. Towards the end of his life, he faced what had to be his hardest struggle. Betrayed by his son Absalom, David prepared to face him in war. En route to the battle, his advisors convinced him that fighting his son was not wise, and he would better serve his own cause by staying as far away from the battlefield as he could. I am sure that David bristled when he first heard their recommendation, especially in light of his previous victories. But he followed their advice. The victory was won, and his kingdom was preserved. Staying home must have been a hard decision for David, but it was the right one.
He won the battle because he didn't lose perspective. And there are no two forces more powerful in distorting our perspective than success and grief.
Success distorts perspective. We can win so much and so long, that we never even contemplate the possibility of losing. This was certainly the case for David, whose résumé on the battlefield was unmatched. He assumed that this would be just another battle, but his advisors knew better. They had watched him enough to know that he was not the same warrior who had beaten Goliath.
Grief is equally distorting. David's love for his son and despair over their failed relationship could easily cause him to forget that his responsibility was not just to his family but to the nation. The King in David and the Father in David were at war, and any confusion of those two roles would be lethal to the King and to his cause.
So, they advised him to stay home.
David won the battle because he didn't lose perspective. And he didn't lose perspective because he listened! The eye can see everything but itself. David's advisors could see what he could not, and they saw that he had no business on a battlefield. It was time for the celebrated warrior to lay down his sword. It is a trick of the enemy to convince us that what was once possible in one season is possible in another.
May all of us listen to the godly advisors that God puts in our lives. Their counsel will help us maintain perspective and go back to sleep when false gods try to wake us up.