1 Samuel 21

Well, what was David thinking!? He has killed tens of thousands of Philistines and now, on the run, he has it in his head to go and hide out at Gath, a major city of the Philistines. I don't know, maybe he was planning to defect. Did he think that maybe no one would recognize the great and famous David?

Well, they do recognize him and he's got to come up with something quick. He gets a little anxious. Scripture says he was much afriad. So David defends himself in a most unusual (but, not so uncommon as some might think). David defends himself by acting like a madman, a lunatic. If you're afraid of someone and you are out-numbered what can you do? The best defense in this case might be a good offense. But, how can one man intimidate (scare) a whole city? Unfortunately, even today, most people really don't know what to do with those who have serious mental health issues so they steer clear of them. So, David uses their own fears against them. He acts the madman.

I remember one young man that I worked with years ago. He was much smaller, at least in height, than most of the teens his age. He had some serious emotional issues. He also had serious behavioral issues. The behavorial issues were symptoms of the emotional. His behavioral problems were actually his only defense against the world. What he used to protect himself because up 'till that time no one else had. He had been neglected and abused. He acted out and was sent away by the judge. I ended up as one of his caregivers. When I first met him, he put on a real good show. He went to a lot of trouble to try to intimidate me and acting as though he was totally insane. He was not. He used David's tactics. To protect himself, to keep from being hurt by anyone else, he "acted the madman" as David had. In reality, once he began to learn to trust a little, this young man was caring and giving. He would not intentionally hurt anyone. He was just alone and afraid.

I can't help it; when I see children really acting out, I often wonder, what are they trying to protect themselves from? What are they afraid of?