Crazy!

1 Samuel 21:13 So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. 

Most people don’t want to be labeled crazy. In fact we spend most of our life, consciously or unconsciously, trying to be sane. At least I do. We avoid people we think are on the edge. They get pushed to the shadows, marginalized and we try to forget them.
So what would motivate someone to act crazy on purpose? Things would have to be very desperate in order to get me to act crazy. How about you? What would it take to get you to act crazy?
For most of us I would guess it would have to be a life and death situation. We wouldn’t act mentally ill for more than a few seconds unless our life was on the line. We would have to be very desperate to do it.
So for a future king of Israel to pretend to be insane, it would be a pretty desperate. And that is exactly where we find David. He has won the favor of the masses of people in Israel. The military love him. He wins battles! He is brave, exceedingly so!
But he is vulnerable. The present king, Saul is his name, goes a bit bonkers from time to time. David’s music used to help with that, but after the latest murder attempt, David has fled from his presence and sought refuge among his enemies in the neighboring territories.
But David’s reputation follows him, and the king of Gath (one of those neighboring towns) hears the famous saying that Saul kills thousands and David kills tens of thousands. And he wants nothing to do with David. If the king of Gath hears this, David fears for his life.
So he hatches a plan: act crazy! So he does. He does a convincing job too. The people who see him in this state start another thread to the story. The king of Gath sees this display and labels him crazy. He tells his servants that he has enough crazy people around him. He doesn’t need any more.
David is able to escape and eventually becomes king, a fairly happy ending.
So what would make a king like Achish king of Gath keep crazy people around him? His response to David’s presence is that he tells those who bring David that he has enough crazy people in his life.
I think his comment reflects his own internal lack of control. He feels out of control and the pressure is getting to him. No matter what he does he gets blasted. He does one thing and he gets criticized. He does the opposite and he comes up short as well.
It is tough to be a leader in many circumstances. The person out front is the object of the harshest attacks. But often the one out front doesn’t really have the ability to make the needed changes. Other factors in play make his decisions almost superfluous.
But he takes all the heat.
It is difficult to be a leader, even in the best of times. Maybe you want to take a moment today to give some encouragement to a leader in your life, in your church, in your business, in your community. Send a hand written note. Make a quick phone call. Send an encouraging personal email.
Instead of being one of the crazies around your leader, become a trusted advisor. That starts with giving the leader what they need: encouragement!