Saul and his son Jonathan both met their deaths on the battlefield. We might expect David to have rejoiced. Even though Jonathan was his friend, Saul had persecuted David mercilessly and even attempted to kill him several times. But David surprises us - he genuinely mourned both of them, and sang their praises in tribute while he paid them honor. David was a forgiving individual, which is fortunate, since later he was in much need of forgiveness himself. Like David, we should refuse to gloat over the misfortune of our enemies, but honor and respect them.

Jesus must have seemed crazy to many, for he did unusual things and did not seem to be bound by custom and tradition. Older translations, probably more correct, say that it was the family of Jesus who thought he was crazy. Perfectly possible - he did not fulfill family obligations in the traditional manner, and even told his followers to not be concerned with familial relationships. When we walk God's path and listen to divine guidance, we will not really fit in - others might think us odd or even threatening. This is not an excuse for negative or deviant behaviour - we always must discern if we are really listening to God or to ourselves. But we should not shrink back from doing what we believe to be right just because of criticism from others. The great men and women of history have been those willing to stand out from the crowd.