Don't Fall Like Saul

When I think of people who are fixated on appearances and public opinion, I think of Saul.  If you’ve never heard of him, you can meet him on the pages of 1 Samuel.

Saul was the first king of Israel. (before David)  The people wanted a “tall” King.  To them that meant powerful.  Saul fit the bill.  Not only was he tall, he was also handsome and wealthy.  In other words he was the whole package.

After some initial success as King, Saul began to obsess about what people thought of him.  He didn’t wait on God but decided to take matters into his own hands. {I’m sure that you can’t relate}  He became a “yes” man, making promises he had no business making (1 Sam 14) {Again, I know that you cannot even begin to imagine how someone could say yes to things simply to please people.}  Finally, Saul disobeyed a direct instruction from God…doing the very thing God told him not to do. (1 Sam 15)  Why?  Fear!  Plain and simple.

The story begins here:  http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/1samuel/1samuel14.htm

After these critical errors, Saul lived out the rest of his days consumed with envy of David. He practically lost his mind by comparing himself to the future king.  In fact, David spent a great deal of time hiding from Saul in the wilderness.  Don’t worry, David did some of his best work in the wilderness.  Ever read the Psalms?

But I digress…how does Saul apply to our lives today?  He took a good God-ordained thing, his kingship, and let it warp him into a self-conscious lunatic!

Don’t we do the same thing?  God gave us our bodies and looks for His own purpose.  We let it get twisted around until we send those nearest to us running into the wilderness to seek shelter!

We don’t wait for God to help our situation.  We stop eating and wait for the scale to drop.

My advice for the day- Accept where God has you today (even if it’s a bad hair day)  Open yourself up to His plan.  Stop fixating on ever-changing looks and popular opinion.  And tell your loved ones it is safe to come out of their caves.  After all you are developing a quiet and gentle spirit.

We will tie it all together tomorrow with some thought-provoking questions.