The Makings Of A Bad Decision Series

THE MAKINGS OF A BAD DECISION

1 Samuel 8:1, 3-22

1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel… 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."

6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.

12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.

16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.

18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22a The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." (NIV)

This morning, we’re gonna be talking about, “MAKING BAD DECISIONS.”

Now, if you haven’t been with us the past few weeks, we’ve been going through this study of the Book of First Samuel. And First Samuel is really an exciting book. It’s a book that’s packed with action. There’s not a whole lot of “Law” in First Samuel. There are no long lists of “begats” or anything like that.

But First Samuel, or basically, the first part of First Samuel, is pretty much, a bunch of stories of how God’s people can blow it. I mean really blow it. And so, I guess that’s why I can relate to it so well. Because I feel like I’m an expert on blowing it myself. Whether it’s taking a good situation and ruining it. Or, taking a bad situation and making it worse, that just seems to be one of my giftings.

In fact, I remember one time, Valentine’s Day was coming up, and, I didn’t know what to get Carrie. This is back when we were still dating, and so, there was a lot of pressure to really come through with something big. And so, I thought, “What would be something that would show Carrie that I loved her, and that she was the only one for me, and that I really enjoyed being with her, and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

And so, after much consideration, I bought the two of us…memberships to the Patrick Wellness Center in Fayetteville. And I thought, we can be together, and get healthy, and all that.

Well, needless to say, that didn’t rank too high on the ole “Romance Scale.” I didn’t even get her a card. But, in my thinking, I spent $70 dollars. I mean, that’s love, right?

Well, I took a good situation, or an opportunity for a good situation, and completely ruined it. And I’m sure that’s not the last thing I did. But in the interest of time, we need to move on.