Giving Up Control

Some things don't work out the way you think they will.

And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected, he has also rejected you from being king." - 1 Samuel 15:22-23

In today's reading from the first book of Samuel, Saul is humbled, losing his place as king.

By taking a reward for his labors, he took a mission from God and made it his own, and in the process showed himself to be unworthy of leadership of God's people.

The whole situation may seem bizarre to us, since we don't like to see God as one who orders the destruction of enemies, but as a lesson in obedience and self-interest, it works.  God gave Saul a mission and Saul modified the goal to serve his own needs.

Now, Saul, in all fairness, did claim to want to take the spoils to offer them as a sacrifice to God, but that wasn't necessary.  In this case, going above and beyond has consequences.

There are probably a couple of messages we can get from this, the first of which is simply to do what we are told and don't seek more.

But there is also a lesson about seeking rewards for what we do.  We like to think we are entitled to rewards when we do a good job, but how much is too much?

Saul was chosen to be king.  Did he need to offer the best of the cattle and sheep to the people to keep them as loyal followers?  If he had faith in God, he would have followed the plan.

And that's the rub, here.  We want to be masters of our own fate, don't we?  So, how do we follow God and feel like we are still in control?  Or is that the wrong question?

To follow in faith means giving up some, if not all control, to God.  And that's the lesson Saul learned, the hard way.

More to come...