I Samuel 23:25 "Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon."
It is true that you can tell much about a person by the friends he keeps. If you only know someone at a distance and want to know more about them, few ways are better than looking at his pals. However, you can also tell a lot about a person by the enemies he keeps. In I Samuel 23, Saul was outflanked by the real enemy because he was out chasing a friend who he thought was an enemy!
Do you have enemies? Most of us are tempted to think that we have no enemies, but the truth is, we do have enemies. So who are your enemies? If you are a teenager, your enemies are not your pastor, youth pastor, or parents! If you keep company with bad friends, they are in fact the enemy because they are leading you down the wrong path of rebellion!
A teen's perceived enemies and friends are easy to see, but what if you are an adult? It can be easy for a husband to feel like his wife is the enemy when, as he sees things, she is nagging. But in truth, it may well be that she is savvy to a danger to which he is blind. No matter what your age is or what relationships you have, don't be like Saul and treat a friend--an ally--as an enemy.
In the story of Saul and David, we find that Saul treated a friend (David) like an enemy; but David treated an enemy (Saul) like a friend. David risked his own life for Saul, specifically when the Philistines robbed the city of Keilah (chapter 23). David even had opportunities to take Saul's life and force his way into the kingdom God had given him; yet David treated Saul, his enemy, like a friend. He was living out God's truth in Matthew 5:44 long before the Lord Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount! "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
Don't base who your friends and enemies are on what they can do for you. Do right by your enemies today, not because they are right--do it because it's right! David wasn't a friend to Saul because Saul could benefit him in any way. Quite the opposite! David was a friend to a man who treated him like an enemy. Saul treated God's chosen man like an enemy, when David had done nothing but good to Saul and to Israel. Are you chasing friends like they are enemies today? Are you being pursued by someone who should be a friend but is an enemy? Learn from the examples of David and Saul, and may God help you today in dealing with friends and enemies.
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