2David Thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.
Sometimes youth can get in the way of wisdom. David has learned over the years to extend kindness, even to his enemies. He often would offer peace first, then if they refused the offer, he would defeat them. David offers kindness to Hanun because his father had been kind to David. But Hanun, in his youthfulness, takes the advice of some his advisors and attacks these messengers, humiliating them. If he had just waited until they told their message before making up his mind, perhaps the coming defeat would not have happened. Are there times when we jump to a conclusion before we know the facts? Do we sometimes listen to the crowd of discontents and make a hasty decision? Most decisions don’t have to be made in an instant. I have learned over the years, through trial and lots of error, that it is better to delay a decision, if there could be missing information that might jeopardize the outcome. We will never have 100% of the information that is available, but most decisions don’t need 100% information. Most can be made with far less, and still turn out alright. But we must be willing to make corrections when we have been hasty and the decision is turning out badly. David was humble, so he could change his mind. Pride leads to stubbornness, which can lead to bad decisions.
The Arnold Journey 