Am I so short of Madmen?

“Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here…?”
– King Achish (1 Samuel 21:15)

“I’ve got more fruits and nuts than in a fruitcake”
– Gordon Gecko (Wall Street)

The Good Lord knew I needed a laugh this week so He sent one to me in His Word of all places: 1 Samuel 21:15, feel free to cut and paste this quote into the Bible Gateway at right and then explore the Word some more from there. Great stuff! LOL upon reading that Scripture and continued chukling all day over it. Anyway, David is on the run from the murderous first king of Israel, King Saul. David winds up in the hands of his potential enemies, the Philistines. They note that David is the one the Israelites sing about and probably also knew this was the guy that killed Goliath. They bring him to the king of Gath – Achish. Knowing what they will tell Achish, David pretends to be crazy, drooling on his beard and scribbling gibberish on the town gate where Achish has come out to see him.

Achish is the enemy of course, but his exasperation with his staff was downright palatable!! Been there, done that! I can identify with Achish in this one:

“Jeez, I’m surrounded by fruits and nuts and y’all thought I needed another
one?? What do you want me to do, hire him because you’re lonely?!?!”

I could also hear Michael Douglas (in his excellent portrayal of the corporate Dark Side) getting frustrated with the young and ambitious Budd Fox (Charlie Sheen) as I read that chapter of 1 Samuel. So easy to lose it with the people that report to you. Sometimes the overload of leadership gets to be such, that you miss key events and opportunities even when they are shoved right under your nose is the lesson of King Achish. Listen to your subordinates, they just might save your bacon someday! Fortunately for King David, King Achish was in a foul and impatient mood that day.

Later on, as I continue reading on the birth of the Kingdom of Israel under David, I expect King Achish will realize he was duped by the future King David and will find newfound respect for his staff as David’s arrows come flying in. Ouch, talk about too little, too late from management! I try always, everyday, to not be an ass in my job as a public sector manager. From now on, however, I’ll also try everyday to not be an achish in addition to an ass!

Thank You Lord Jesus for another lesson from Your Word!