Mature leadership distributes the spoils - 1 Samuel 26-31

David knows the wisdom of "distributing" the spoils of war.  Other leaders may not have provided the spoils to the 200 who did not fight in the war.   That would be the prevailing thought in our economic and labor conscious society.  Seldom do leaders give credit or "spoils" to those on the fringe, much less those who don't even partake in the work product.   In our society today leaders have large packages of benefits and when the company does well they are rewarded well.   However, the individual doing the work is locked into his or her benefit package and seldom gets to enjoy the spoils of war.  In business and politics it is a "I'lll scratch your back if you scratch mine" mentality.  In this section David not only distributes the spoils of war to the 200 who were fatigued and didn't fight, but also to the cities of Judah who didn't even go to the fight.   Now, some of the spoils were originally stolen from these cities, but apparently no one from those cities decided to even pursue what was theres.   But, David knew the benefit of distribution of the spoils.  This wasn't about filling his coffers.  This was about building relationships and leadership.   This was about making sure others we included.   This was about the community not the captain.  You can always tell the level of maturity in a leader by how well he or she can distribute praise for success to others.   Those leaders who have to take credit or get to take credit for the accomplishment of others need to know what they are "stealing" from the warrior, or laborer, or partner who could benefit from the praise and spoils of war.