dodecahedron of death

OK...I agree ~
That is one of the cheesiest titles ... well .... certainly in a long time. But -- I will bet that you are asking yourself (if you have been reading this series since the Ruth beginning) What do dodecahedrons have to do with David? And...yes...that is a pretty cheesy tongue-twister ~ sorry (sort-of)

OK...WHAT am I talking about? and while we are asking
                 WHAT is a dodecahedron?

                                                                                                                                                                                         

<===            This is a dodecahedron

                 and this is a dodecahedron          ========>

<===========  and this is a dodecahedron

and ... now that that is cleared up ~ what? it isn't ... quite ... cleared up?

OK a dodecahedron is a 12 sided figure. The one above with the stars has twelve vertices and twelve faces. I think they are pretty cool...so, why would I say "dodecahedron of death"??

I am using this image as metaphor for something ("yeah, duh...but what?!" you ask. 

                                                                                   So glad you asked!)

I am using the dodecahedron to represent what I think is the deadliest flaw we can have: insecurity. Ok, were you ready for me to say .... anger? maybe ... pride? maybe ...  dishonesty? Those are bad. But therein is the reason for the image ... just as a dodecahedon is a single figure with lots of faces, so I think insecurity is a single flaw with lots of faces ~ one is anger, one is pride, one is dishonesty...and they go on and on. Insecure people have one face that is weak, and one that is strong, one that is passive, one that is aggressive, one that second-guesses itself all day long, and another that makes rash decisions boldly and sweepingly. Insecure people live in fear, self-pity, and rage. You never know which face you'll see ~ and I think, they don't know themselves which face they'll show. You can't comfort them, you can't reassure them, you can't be yourself --- they think you are 'showing them up', and what they can not stand is to be shown up. They must be the center of attention, they must be the best.

Insecurity was Saul's fatal flaw. He was a great soldier, but David was better. The song ~

Saul has killed his thousand,

But David, his TEN thousands

made the top ten in the "Top-40" count down and well ... that's all it took for Saul to turn on David.

  1 Sam 18:5-9

Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's officers as well.

David was the glory boy! He had killed Goliath, gone with the army to chase the Philistines home, and now was rising in the ranks of the army. The smiling face of the dodecahedron shines on David. Then . . .

When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. As they danced, they sang:

"Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands."

Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David .

 

The only thing that changed was that Saul was now getting second billing ... the galled, jealous face of the dodecahedron flips up. The problem was not in the circumstances...David was not trying to show up Saul ~ he didn't write that song. Saul's insecurity was the problem. And it was a huge problem...Saul begins to give place to the evil spirit and disregard the soothing music of David's harp and "presto-chango" David starts getting spears thrown at him. The dodecahedron of death . . . insecurity!