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 try to act in respectable ways around other people. We generally try to present the best version of ourselves to the public. We tend to hide the embarrassing parts of our character from others, not wanting to be judged by them.
But it seems that this script has been flipped in our country. Now the game seems to be to let it all hang out, do the crazy in front of the cellphone held in your own hand. And the crazier, the further away from the norm it is, the more hits it gets on social media and the more money goes in your pocket.
So the race is on! What used to be hidden is now done in the open, as if it was acceptable. And this action changes what is acceptable over time. It erodes the moral fabric of a society, weakening it at the very core.
Our text tells us of a moment when a great leader was forced to act in socially unacceptable ways in order to save his life. He began to act like he was insane. We might get a better picture if we looked at the homeless Meth addicts on the streets of our big cities like LA or New York. We would probably not invite them into our homes for a social visit.
But David puts on this act to save himself from an enemy king, Achish of Gath. And by the way, he was running from Saul, the King of Israel who himself acted crazy, but not of his own choosing like David. Saul was so jealous of David’s success that it drove him nuts.
I am told that it is difficult to continue to act crazy over a long period of time. To keep up any act longterm takes a great deal of effort and concentration. It must be maintained even when you don’t think you are being observed.
When I worked in an acute psychiatric hospital we would occasionally get someone admitted to our ward who was trying to fake it in order to get out of trouble with the police. They could keep it up for a few days, but then they would slip up. There would be a moment of unguarded reality that would be seen by the staff.
This would often happen in the most innocent of ways. They would laugh at what one of the other patients would do showing their connection to reality. They would smile at the cameras that dotted the unit.
But David had to keep it up until he was branded “nuts” by the observers from Achish. But I am sure as soon as he got out of their presence, his sanity was show again. I imagine he washed is face and beard as one of the first acts of freedom. At least I would!
David had tried to be helpful to King Saul of Israel, but Saul knew that his days as king were numbered. He had rebelled against the LORD and against the Prophet Samuel, who had pronounced the judgment of losing the kingship. There went his dreams of a future for his son. and his family name.
But David was willing to wait in the wings until the LORD raised him up. He just had to survive Saul and his crazy moods and plots. And survive he did to become the greatest King Israel would ever have.
This man who faked craziness to save his life became the respected king of Israel.
The Arnold Journey 