Hurrying A Gift?

"Now therefore, know and consider what you should do, for evil is plotted against our master and against all his household; and he is such a worthless man that no one can speak to him."  Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys. (1 Samuel 25:17-18 NASB)

We see Abigail in three 'scenes' in this story, and in each of the three (with her servants, meeting David in the desert, and with David's servants to become his wife) Abigail is in a hurry.  Here, she's in a hurry to get together a 'gift' to propitiate David.  Yet, when considering he has 600 men in his troop, the gift seems somewhat inadequate.  On a day when the wealth of Nabal is gathered, thousands of sheep, she takes 5.  There is also 2 jugs of wine, 200 loaves of bread and grain and raisins.  Still, not even the 400 with David would really find the gift enough to make their trip worth it.

As I read this account, I think the size of the gift is partly explained in the first statement made about Abigail in verse 18: 'Then Abigail hurried...'  I think the answer lies there, or at least the clue as why it wasn't bigger; she was in a hurry to put it together.  So, she found what was at hand for the shearing feast of her husband and household, took some of what was there, and sets off on her donkey.

What is also interesting is that she has this gift ahead of her as she reaches David.  So the first he hears of her is her servants arriving with a gift, and then she 'rounds the mountain' and rushes to fall at his feet.  I wonder, if looking at the little provided, he is still upset at first, or even more so.  The rest of what it took to calm David down may have been supplied by the presence of the lady herself.  Her demeanor is humble, her words wise and godly, and she has been described as 'beautiful of form'; in short, she is impressive, leaving an indelible mark on the warrior.

The result is that this gift, perhaps enough for those watching the bags, is sufficient to appease David; at least the gift along with the lady herself is sufficient.  David returns and waits, and God addresses his 'adversary' in a very permanent manner.  I thought it was interesting how Abigail introduces to Nabal what she did; and while his response is cryptic (was he afraid, shocked at his loss, shocked at his wife, or what?), I wonder if she knew what it would be.  There isn't much mourning for the husband, she and David are wed in what reads as a very short time.  Once again, she hurries to David.

So, what's the lesson?  I think the lesson here is about character.  The personal qualities of Abigail made up for what she was unable to bring or add to the gift.  So, it was less about her material resources and more about her personal resources that saved her household.  The point?  Material substance is less important than personality substance.

So, I learn from this that, as I approach my job, my family, friends, church, and so on; what I carry in my heart far outweighs what I carry in my pockets.  What is in my words is more important than what is in my bank account, or my home, my garage, or other form of storage.  It's not the gift I give, but the attitude, words, and actions I take that make a positive indelible mark; if I make one at all.

Therefore, my daughter doesn't need more stuff from me, she needs my time, attention, and love.  My wife doesn't need a bauble, but my gaze, my devotion, and my appreciation.  My friends need my listening ear, my church needs my family's committed involvement, and my Master needs all of me.  At that point, being a good employee will be easy.  So, there it is; problem solved, lesson learned, ready to move on...oh wait.  I almost forgot; I need to now practice.  Ah, I thought I was missing something.