2 Samuel 15:2 – “And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so , that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.”
I really enjoy a nice salad with my dinner…and my dressing of choice – balsamic vinaigrette! Did you know that the name balsamic comes from the word balsamico (I love just saying that!), which means restorative, or curative? Get this, pure balsamic vinegar, the really good stuff, can cost up to $400 a bottle! Uh, no, I’ll stick with the cheap stuff because I tend to use a bit too much on my salad, ask my wife, she loves when I do that.
Well, as usual, from this fun fact I came up with a new phrase, “Absalomic Vinegar”. Absalom was the third son of David. He was handsome, charming, and eloquent, as well as traitorous, murderous, merciless and self-centered. He murdered his brother, betrayed his father, and died a bitter death.
In 2 Samuel 15:2, it says that Absalom would sit at the entrance of the city with a specific agenda, to divert the people who were seeking his Father, King David’s, wise counsel, and try to undermine his authority. He would ask them about the purpose for their visit, listen intently to their case, and appear sympathetic to their plight. Eventually, he would gain their confidence by speaking undertones of his own counsel, of how he would judge their case overwhelming in their favor.
We all need to watch out for “Absalomic Vinegar”. For those backhanded comments, negative innuendos, questions stated in a way to evoke a certain answer, conversations disguised as concern but intended to be used against you or someone else. We’ve all been offered a little taste of “Absalomic Vinegar” at one time or another. I can’t tell you enough how important it is to recognize when a conversation starts to go in this direction. This type of indirect talk poisons a person’s thoughts against others. My advice to you is, don’t participate. But if you do, it will have its intended effect on you, causing bitterness, resentfulness and strife between you, the person who is spreading the poison, and the person being slandered.
Instead…”balsamico”! Be restorative and curative. If you have something to say about someone, go directly to them, speak the truth in love during a time of peace. You’ll be a more positive person, you will create a more positive atmosphere, you will minister grace to the hearer. As my mother used to say, “If you don’t have anything good to say about someone, don’t say anything at all”. Good advice from Genevieve. Balsamico!