1 Samuel 14:49 - 15:35

 READ: 1 SAMUEL 14:49 - 15:35; PROVERBS 12

TEXT FOR REFLECTION: 1 SAMUEL 15:22

And Samuel said,

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

    as in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

    and to listen than the fat of rams.

REFLECT

One of the reasons I love reading the Bible is that it provides deep insights into human nature and God's nature. In this case, it is about how subtly we are misled to equate our ministry successes with godliness. 

King Saul was a timid man and as described by the prophet Samuel, was a man who was "little in your own eyes" (v 17). Although he was a head taller than any other Israelite, he had a very low esteem of himself. In fact, when the tribes of Israel were brought before Samuel to select a king from among them, when the turn came for the tribe of Benjamin to present themselves, Saul hid himself among the luggage. Though physically he looked like a very suitable king, he felt overwhelmed at the fact that he would be made king over Israel. And God transformed him by giving him a new heart and making Saul into a new person.

Saul's power and authority to lead Israel was given by God. Without God transforming him, Saul was nothing. But success after success in battle lured Saul into thinking that he was the great warrior and that it was an act of condescension on his part to give glory to God or to sacrifice to Him.

What happened was that God had instructed Israel to utterly destroy the Amalekites because of how the Amalekites had treated them after they had left Egypt. The Israelites were to destroy everything including the Amalekite king Agag. But Saul spared Agag as well as the best of the livestock. When questioned by Samuel, Saul told Samuel that he had kept the livestock for the people to sacrifice to God. And Agag he had kept as a trophy of the war. Samuel expressed God's disappointment with what Saul had done. He then rebuked Saul's attitude and told him that in God's eyes, obedience was more important than the choiciest sacrifice.

After his coronation, Saul gradually regressed from being a person with few talents and depending solely on God to lead Israel, to one who saw his authority as something he had to win from the people, and his victories as something that he did to glorify God. The difference between what God wanted (obedience) and what Saul did (offer choice sacrifices) is a very subtle one and can very easily be missed. God saw Saul as His servant to execute all His purposes. The power to do this came solely from God. Saul, on the other hand, saw himself as an 'independent contractor' who used his initiative to win battles for God. Although he still 'honoured' God, it was the attitude of the kings of the other nations, who shared honour with God and expected God to honour them for their achievements.

RELATE

In my years of service in the church, I have observed this very subtle change in myself as well as in many pastors and persons serving whether in an employed capacity or as a volunteer leader. We began by being surprised at the gifts that God gave us. We knew that we had nothing and were nothing - that our early successes in ministry were not the result of our natural abilities. We could easily see that we succeeded only because God made it possible and that we were merely vessels through which God worked. One pastor who witnessed a mighty revival in his church and saw phenomenal growth in numbers acknowledged that the revival had nothing to do with his abilities because the congregation often complained that they couldn't make sense of his weekly sermons before the revival took place. Many of us pastors saw how God used our weakness to minister and speak to our congregations. We relied solely on God to minister. But as we began to see more and more successes in our ministries, we took on celebrity status. People admired us for all the work that we had done and were doing. And we began to change subtly. We still 'gave glory to God', but now instead of seeing ourselves as having nothing of our own, and relying solely on God, we began to believe that we were that ones who brought glory to God. We began to believe that we could share the pedestal with God.

This subtle change is seen in many who serve God. A preacher becomes more engrossed in entertaining the congregation instead of bringing God's truth to the people; a worship leader resorts to methods of stirring emotions instead to leading the people to witness the greatness of God; a donor who seeks to be known for their generosity; a church leader who craves recognition for innovative initiatives....

The tests for this change taking place are these: do we feel slighted and unappreciated when we are not acknowledged for our work and contributions? Do we feel threatened when someone else 'steals' our limelight? Do we see as rivals those who are more effective in ministry than we are? Are we easily angered by criticisms, and are we critical of others' work?

These are signs that we have moved from acknowledging our helplessness and utter dependence on God, to thinking that God is glorified by our successes and abilities. Saul's problem was that he thought the victory was his and that it was a good deed to share the spoils of war with God, when he was actually just a servant whom God used for His good purposes. May we who serve always remember that we serve only with God's resources and only for His purposes. 

 REST

Father, we acknowledge that we often serve thinking that you are glorified by our ministry successes and that it is all about ourselves. And we tire ourselves out vying to remain as number one. Help us to see again and again that we serve with your resources only, and on your instructions. That though we are your children, our attitude to service is that we are your servants who take on your yoke.  Paradoxically, those who take your yoke on ourselves find rest for our souls because your yoke is easy and the burdens you lay on us are light. Please help us always to remember that without you we can do nothing, and that our efforts at glorifying you and our successes are nothing as well. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.

CML