Abigail's Way of Approach

     Not what she did, but how she did it!

1 Samuel 25:18 "Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses."
1Samuel 25:23-24 "And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,
And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid."

I love the way Abigail handles this situation! She did the right thing, but she also did it the right way. If she had of gone out to David in a different way, the end of the story probably would have been a whole lot different.
Her way of approach was effective.
First of all, she cared. She brought food for them and met their needs. She showed love.
Secondly, she was very humble and understanding. She understood why David was so angry. She managed to say what she needed to say without being condemning.
Thirdly, she made haste. She went quickly. She didn't put it off and wait until it was too late.
What is our way of approach when we are in situations like this?
If you see someone who needs a talking to, how do you do it?  Can they tell that you are doing it out of love? Do you do it humbly, knowing that you are capable of doing it to? Do you do it before it's too late?
The way you do it may decide whether they will listen or not.
I read a true story of a girl who was seeking God. She had attended a church for a whole year, and no one had ever talked to her and been friendly. One Sunday she saw a lady making her way towards her. Her face lit up. Finally, someone was going to talk to her! But the lady just said to her, "Haven't you got a longer skirt to wear to church?" That girl was totally shocked. Do you think she listened to that lady? The girl never went back to that church again. Isn't that horrible? Thankfully, she starting attending another church where the people actually cared about her (not just the clothes she was wearing), and she eventually came to know the Lord.
That lady who approached her in that first church didn't seem to care about her and she wasn't humble or understanding.
I was talking to a lady once who had visited a friend who was not a Christian. This lady was proudly telling me how she had said to her friend, "You're going to Hell." The way she said it made me shudder. Her way of approach was off-putting!
This lesson doesn't just apply to talking to someone about something. It can apply to anything in life.
The way you do it is so important!