But the men said, “You must not go out; if we are forced to flee, they won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It would be better now for you to give us support from the city.” – 2 Samuel 18:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 12, 2016): 2 Samuel 18

So, who was the best Star Trek Captain? If you are a Trekkie, I know you have an opinion. The most recent polls taken from Star Trek fans seem to be split on the issue, but according to the majority of fans, the best captain is either James Tiberius Kirk or Jean-Luc Picard. (By the way, according to the Star Trek Universe, Jean-Luc’s birthday is tomorrow – or at least he will be born 289 years from tomorrow. Happy Pre-birthday Jean-Luc Picard. He shares the day with the man who played him, Patrick Stewart, who turn 76 tomorrow.) Actually, the fact that fans are split between the two captains is not much of a surprise. They were the first and second captains to be introduced to us, even though Jonathan Archer actually predates historically both Kirk and Picard. But they were not carbon copies of each other. Kirk was very much a man of action. He was always leaving the bridge in control of Spock or another officer while he blindly left the ship for an adventure. Picard, on the other hand, was much more cerebral. It wasn’t as much that Picard didn’t want the action, but rather that his Number One, William Riker, would never allow him to just “beam” into hot spots. According to Riker, the Captain’s place was on the bridge. It was the crew who had the job of confronting danger. Maybe it was this obstinate streak in Riker that caused fans to hate him so much – ah, but that is a subject for a very different blog.

Riker was right. The Captain’s spot was where it was safe. And one of the reasons why that is true is that the capture and death of the captain could cause irreparable damage to the rest of the crew. It is something that Kirk should have known, and that Commander Spock should have enforced.

To be honest, I have always thought that David was more of a James Tiberius Kirk than a Jean-Luc Picard. David always seems to be willing to run headlong into battle. He is the one who sneaks off into enemy territory as a spy, he beheads the giant and he is a man of action. In the Star Trek Universe, David would be a copy of Captain Kirk. But not here. He wants to be here. He immediately informs the army that he is to be included in the “away team,” but the men respectfully turn him down. They don’t need Captain Kirk; they need Captain Picard. They will go and take care of what must be done, but they will be able to do the job better if they know that David is safe back in the city.

I am not sure that David appreciated the concern. After all, at heart, he was more like Captain Kirk than Captain Picard, but the decision to leave David away from the fighting was the right one. Keeping David safe had to be the first priority.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 19