Adaptability (see Behavior,
Conformity)
King Saul was not adaptable. At one point,
he made a stupid mistake. He was fighting and winning a battle against the
Philistines when he made the following foolish order.
- 1 Samuel 14:24 HCSB and the men of Israel
were worn out that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath:
"Cursed is the man who eats food before evening, before I have taken
vengeance on my enemies." So none of the troops tasted any
food.
As a result, the men were so exhausted from
fighting all day without food that they couldn’t get all the Philistines and
when the battle was finally over they fell like ravenous dogs on some cattle
and ate it – blood and all.
- 1 Samuel 14:31-32 HCSB The Israelites struck down
the Philistines that day from Michmash all the way to Aijalon. Since the
Israelites were completely exhausted,
(32) they rushed to the plunder, took sheep,
cattle, and calves, slaughtered them on the ground, and ate meat
with the blood still in it.
When Saul heard that his own son Jonathan
(who hadn’t known about the order at the time) had tasted some honey, instead
of acknowledging the stupidity of his order and rescinding it, he stiffened up
and was going to insist on killing his own son!
- 1 Samuel 14:44-45 HCSB Saul declared to him,
"May God punish me severely if you do not die, Jonathan!" (45) But the people said to Saul, "Must
Jonathan die, who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? No, as
the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he
worked with God's help today." So the people rescued Jonathan, and he
did not die.
Saul never changed. When he was pitting
army vs. army, he won. But when the Philistines changed the game and brought
out a champion and challenged the Israelis to match them, he was unable to
adapt to the new situation and came to a grinding halt.
- 1 Samuel 17:10-11 HCSB Then the Philistine said,
"I defy the ranks of Israel
today. Send me a man so we can fight each other!" (11) When Saul and all Israel heard these
words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.
- 1 Samuel 17:16 HCSB Every morning and evening
for 40 days the Philistine came forward and took his stand.
David, on the other hand, demonstrated his tactical potential when even
as a lad he sized up the situation and quickly came to the proper solution.
- 1 Samuel 17:48-50 HCSB When the Philistine started
forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the
Philistine. (49) David put his
hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine
on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face
to the ground. (50)
David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. Even though
David had no sword, he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
The Teacher had the following to say about being
adaptable.
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 HCSB (1) There is an occasion for everything, and
a time for every activity under heaven:
(2)
a time to give birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time
to uproot; (3) a time to kill and a time to heal; a
time to tear down and a time to build;
(4)
a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to
dance; (5) a time to throw stones and a time to
gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing; (6) a time to search and a time to count as
lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away; (7) a time to tear and a time to sew; a time
to be silent and a time to speak; (8) a
time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.
The
Apostle Paul had the following to say about being adaptable.
- 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 HCSB (19) For although I am free from all people,
I have made myself a slave to all, in order to win more people. (20) To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win
Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law--though I myself am
not under the law--to win those under the law. (21) To those who are outside the law, like
one outside the law--not being outside God's law, but under the law of
Christ--to win those outside the law.
(22) To the weak I became weak, in order to
win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all
means save some. (23) Now
I do all this because of the gospel, that I may become a partner in its
benefits.
What do we learn from these passages?
1.
We must be willing to humbly
acknowledge when we have fallen short and change.
2.
We must acknowledge that we don’t
know everything and so must change as we grow and learn.
3.
What may have been good at one
time, may not be good ALL the time.
4.
We must be willing to flex in:
a.
Our outlooks
b.
Our culture
c.
Our emotional reactions
d.
Our programs
e.
Our methods or approaches
f.
Our presentation
5.
We must be willing to set aside
our likes – even our rights and adapt to what is needed.
6.
Our adaptability must be based on
a universal however. The desire to bring the gospel to all.
QR
Adaptability (see Behavior, Conformity) 1
Samuel 14:24, 31-32, 44-45; 17:10-11, 16, 48-50; Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; 1
Corinthians 9:19-23