Dealing with Jealous Authority

David had a problem dealing with King Saul. No matter how hard David tried to please him, King Saul remained jealous. But David did the best that he could. He played his harp to successfully drive the evil spirit away from Saul, until Saul tried to kill him for it. As commander of the army, David defeated the Philistines wherever he went, so Saul unfairly demoted him. Demoted to command of 1,000 men, David continued to defeat Saul's enemies.

At last David realized that Saul would eventually destroy him, so David fled. So David turned disloyal? No, David twice refused to kill Saul in delf-defense, and Ahimelech the priest told Saul that David was Saul's most loyal servant. Yes, David's ministry suffered. He fought against less enemies than he had before, and when Saul needed him the most, David wasn't there to prevent a massacre of Israel's army. But David went on to become a great king just the same.

The point? Sometimes, the best way to deal with jealous leadership is to leave peacefully.