I was browsing facebook last week (I know, scary business) and I came across this group, with the name "the League of Savage Gentlemen" without really, any description. Ok, now Im curious. "Savage" and "gentlemen" arn't words that I typically would put together, usually when I think of gentlemen I think of a dude in a suit walking around opening doors for ladies, and when I think of savage, I see a warrior running around slaughtering people. Well, you know me, curiosity killed the cat, I joined the group, just to see what it was about. It was a discussion group, of everything man. From politics, to hunting, to issues men have dealing with things in their every day life. Naturally, lots of testosterone, but it was nice seeing a group of men, being men. In today's world, masculinity is under attack, from every direction. The pendulum has swung from women being practically slaves, to second class citizens, and now has gone the other way to where men are the "second class citizens" and a man swinging a axe and being a man, is looked down upon. I found it a welcome relief to be in this group of men-who arn't afraid to be men.

    There are a lot of different ideas in this group about what exactly makes a "savage gentleman" but the general consensus I've picked up is a savage gentleman, is a man who has honor, who treats others with respect and courtesy, who stands on what he believes in, and yes, is willing to use violence when necessary. Now theres a lot of discussion about when "necessary" is necessary, and of course what they believe in-but you get the picture.

   So anyway, that has gotten me to thinking, what does the Bible say about being a "savage gentleman" Is it Biblical, is this something men should strive for, and something that women should look for in a man? I believe it is. I think men, should seek to be gentle, loving, and caring individuals, who treat others with love and respect. No doubt about it. But, I also believe that men needs to be willing to be savage at times to. Men need to stand for what is right, against what is wrong in the world. So I have decided to form my own "league of savage gentlemen" in essence. I am going to start a series of studies on different men in the Bible, who I think belong in this league, and why I believe they are a Savage Gentlemen. I am not going to do them in chronological order, or even necessarily in order of importance. I am choosing to do it here, instead of say in a blog, because I want and encourage discussion from anyone interested-man or woman-on the subject.

   I am going to start with one of, if not my favorite, men in the Bible, and that is King David. I very much believe him to be a Savage gentleman, in how he acted towards his fellow man. In his youth, we see him as a shepherd boy. He worked hard, did his job well-shown courage in protecting his sheep from lions and bears. His claim to fame however, came violently, with the showdown with Goliath. He stood up to Goliath, when no one else would, and slew the giant. And he didn't use conventional weapons and armor, but rather a sling-it was the weapon that he knew. So early on we see not only wisdom-but faith. He trusted God explicitly, enough to go into a battle he could not win-when no one else would. And he used wisdom-instead of bringing weapons he was not trained with, wearing armor he was not strong enough to wear properly, he brought a tool he knew well, and left the rest to God. And, as we can tell, he won.

   He continued his career into violence, fighting the philistines, and getting promoted, and gaining prestige amongst the Israelites. He became a feared warrior amongst the Israelites, winning victory, after victory against the philistines. This continued until Saul grew Jealous of David, and on multiple occasions tried-and failed, to kill David. Up until this point, all we have seen from David, is violence-so hes definetly gotten the "savage" part down pat. But, here is where the gentlemen part comes through, and more then just in wisdom. We see Saul trying to kill David-but David never tried to kill Saul. He respected his king. He even had at least one chance, if not more to kill Saul, and end the feud between them and take the crown for himself. (1 samuel 24:11 for example) David tried multiple times to befriend Saul. He not only showed respect towards his ruler-but incredible self restraint, which I believe are strong values every gentleman should have. Even after Sauls death, David Mourns him and offers a memorial for the man.

   We also see, marital strife with David, which leads to him having an affair with bathsheba, and having her husband murdered. Now, this is not what makes a gentleman. But, what does, is when confronted with his sin, unlike Saul who lashed out in anger and continued to sin, David admits he was wrong, and begs for forgiveness, and accepts and lives with the consequences. This, I think is the gentlemanly act. No one is perfect, we all mess up, and when we do, we live with the consequences. We can either do that in grace, love and humbleness, like Kind David did, or we can choose to lash out, and sin further like King Saul did. I personally think the gentlemanly thing to do is to accept that we have sinned, beg for forgiveness, and try to make it right-but also accept the consequences of our actions.

   Another aspect we see of David, which shows his gentle side, is how he treated Mephibosheth, Jonathans son. David had grown to be a strong friend with Jonathan, Saul's son, and he saved Davids life multiple times. David Promised Jonathan that he would always take care of his family. So after Jonathan died alongside his father, it would have been easy for David to forget that promise, or at least waited until they sought him out. But he did not, he sought out any family member of Jonathans, and when discovering his son, had him brought to him, and he didn't just take care of him and give him the bare essentials-he gave him all of Sauls land and property, making Mephibosheth a wealthy man, and gave him men to work the fields, and treated him like a son. So we see that David was a honorable man, who kept his word.

    These are the attributes that I feel make David a "savage gentleman" He was faithful and wise, he respected his elders, who tried to mend bridges with his enemies when possible. He had self restraint, only using violence when necessary (which unfortunatly, in his time was often necessary) He was a humble man, willing to accept the consequences of his sins and ask forgiveness, and we see he was an honorable man, who kept his word. There are many, many more stories about king David, that I believe bring forth these attributes, but these are the highlights. Do you think that the idea of a "savage gentleman" is a Biblical one, and if so, do you feel that David fits into this category, why and why not? and are there any other stories that you think either highlight these attributes, or bring forth more attributes that you think make king David a "Savage Gentleman"?