Patrick O’Boyle tells about an incident in Hyde Park, a large public park in London, England, famous for its soapbox orators. He recalls one particular day, back in the 1940’s, when Frank Sheed, a Christian author and publisher was addressing the crowd in the “Speakers’ Corner.” He writes: “Sheed could be devastating with hecklers. Once, after he had described the extraordinary order and design to be seen in the universe, a persistent challenger retorted by pointing to all the world’s ills, and ended by shouting, ‘I could make a better universe than your God!’ ‘I won’t ask you to make a universe,’ Sheed replied. ‘But would you make a rabbit — just to establish confidence?’”
Pride leads people to believe that they could do things better than God, if only given the chance. They question God and criticize the world he has made and the way he has made it. Like the heckler in the story, they believe that they could create a universe better than God. Of course they could not even make a rabbit, but they like to think they could do a better job with the universe than God. It would be interesting to start with the universe, and then let these people just be in charge for a short while to actually see how well they would do. We get some idea of how well this would work by looking at the lives of people who had a little taste of being in charge of the world by being world leaders — Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse-tung, Henry VIII, and the list could go on. We get no clearer picture of this than the life of Saul, Israel’s first King. In spite of all that God did for him, he never really was willing to do things God’s way.
The first thing I would like to point out about Saul is that he did it his way because: He was filled with pride instead of dependent humility. Actually, Saul had very humble beginnings, but God saw future potential in his life and chose him to be king. In the beginning of the story of Saul, we realize that the thought of becoming the king of Israel was the farthest thing from his mind. When Samuel the prophet came to Saul and said, “To whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father’s family?” Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” (1 Samuel 9:20-21). He was incredulous that God would seek him out to be the king of Israel. He thought of himself as a person of no importance in the life of the country. Even when Samuel gathered all the people together to select their first king and anoint him, Saul hid so that no one could find him. Being king was not an office he was seeking. He in effect said, “If nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve.” But when the people discovered his whereabouts and brought him to Samuel, they noticed his fine appearance. The Bible tells about it with these words: “They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.’ Then the people shouted, ‘Long live the king!’” (1 Samuel 10:23-24). It sounded strange at first, but then he began to like the sound of it. He started believing what everyone was saying about how great he was. The mantle of king not only started to feel comfortable, it seemed as though it should have always been there. He was one of the beautiful people, one of the admired, and he liked it. Slowly he became impressed with himself.
At the ceremony where Saul was anointed, there was a group of men who were not so impressed with him. The Bible says, “But some troublemakers said, ‘How can this fellow save us?’ They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent” (1 Samuel 10:27). He could have ordered them executed, but he did not say anything to them at all. And after his first military victory over the Ammonites, the people brought the men who had spoken against him and wanted to put them to death. But Saul said, “No one shall be put to death today, for this day the Lord has rescued Israel” (1 Samuel 11:13).
It was a sign of his initial humble greatness. But things began to turn quickly. It was not the people who were against Saul who caused him concern, it was those who were for him. A young upstart named David became an overnight sensation after killing a Philistine giant in battle, and Saul began plotting how he could kill him. Saul could handle his enemies, but he could not stand the success of his friends. David was getting into the spotlight. After the army of Israel came home from battle, the women began to dance and sing: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). Then the Bible says, “Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. ‘They have credited David with tens of thousands,’ he thought, ‘but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?’ And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David” (1 Samuel 18:8-9). His jealousy was the natural product of his pride.
One of the interesting events in Saul’s life was his defeat of the Amalekites. God, through the prophet Samuel, had specifically instructed Saul that he was not to keep any of the spoils of battle. But he deliberately went against what God had told him to do. He had failed to carry out the Lord’s instructions and was unfaithful. But the Bible says, “Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, ‘Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor....’” (1 Samuel 15:12). When Samuel met him he said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.... Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” (1 Samuel 15:17, 19). This was one of Saul’s first acts as king, and it was an act of disobedience — and at the same time he was building a monument in his own honor! Saul is like many people in that he was proud of what he should have been ashamed of. He neglected to see that he had failed in carrying out the task God had given him, yet he was swollen with pride. Pride became his constant companion, and it caused him to believe in himself more than God. Pride means doing it your way instead of God’s way. You think you know better than God how your life should be lived and how things need to be done. The Bible says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). And that is exactly what happened with Saul. God is in the business of taking nobodies and making them somebodies, but sometimes these nobodies believe they became somebody by their own effort.
The second thing that we notice is that Saul did it his way because: He was controlled by impulse instead of trusting faith. John Bunyan said, “I would rather walk in the dark with God than go alone in the light.” But that is not how Saul thought. He was impatient. He wanted to go by his own instincts. Over and over again he chooses the expedient way instead of the obedient way. The very next battle that Saul gets into is one against the Philistines. Now Samuel had instructed him that he was to wait seven days before engaging the Philistines in battle. Samuel was to come on the seventh day and offer sacrifices to God before the army went against the enemy. But things were deteriorating among Saul’s army. The soldiers were growing more and more afraid of the Philistines who were spread out before them like a mighty host — well-equipped and fearsome. Some of the men of Israel started hiding in caves and others ran away toward their homes. Saul felt that if he did not act fast he would lose the entire army. But the Lord was testing him to see if he was going to act on impulse or on faith. Saul failed the test because he did not wait on Samuel, but hastily offered the sacrifices himself — something he was forbidden to do. Just as he finished, Samuel arrived — exactly as he said he would. Samuel said to him: “You acted foolishly. You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command” (1 Samuel 13:13-14).
How easy it is to get ahead of God. We tell ourselves that something has to be done. Things look ominous, and we are tempted to take things into our own hands, even though we know that what we are planning is not right. We fail to wait on God. We fail to live in faith, and so we are tempted to act on impulse rather than waiting on God’s guidance. We rely on our own intelligence and abilities rather than doing things in the way, and in the time, God has instructed us. We choose the expedient over obedience. Someone has said, “Doing God’s will in something other than God’s way cannot truly be God’s will.” We have seen that principle at work in the lives of many of the biblical characters we have studied.
Earlier, when Samuel rebuked Saul for his disobedience, he said, “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23). Those words were more than a rebuke, they were a prophesy, because Saul’s rebellion did lead to divination. Toward the end of his reign, Saul is again facing the Philistines in battle. They are surrounded, and Saul seeks a word from God for direction, but the heavens are silent because God had turned away from Saul since he had repeatedly turned away from the Lord. Desperate for some kind of guidance he went to a Witch in a town called Endor. Early in his reign Saul had forbidden anyone to consult a witch for divination — fortune telling. If someone practiced witchcraft and the occult they did so at the cost of their life, but now Saul is seeking help from a necromancer and asks her to raise Samuel from the dead so that he might speak with him. Fortune telling and the occult are declared as serious sins throughout the Bible, but Saul is willing to use anything that might possibly work for him. This is the last in a long line of spiritual compromises and concessions in the life of Saul. He is adding sin upon sin instead of turning away from the attitude which had ruined his life. He has not learned anything in all the mistakes he has made.
The Bible says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). If only Saul would have had a little humility he would not have been tempted to act on his own impulses. The thing that Saul never learned was that God could have used him in spite of his mistakes, if only he had a teachable heart that yearned for God. God could have used him in spite of his weaknesses, but he did not want to admit he had any weaknesses. So he covered them up, he justified the things he did, he lied about them and distorted reality. He was supposed to be following God, but he always had the back door open so that he could resort to his old ways if he needed to. You can’t do that if you are going to follow God. When the back door is left open, it is all too easy to go through it whenever the impulse strikes. The Spirit of God had come upon Saul at different times in his life. The Bible says that after his anointing he became a different man. But he slid back into the same old rut, in spite of what God was trying to accomplish through him and in him. He could not seem to give up that self-willed spirit.
That leads to the final point that Saul did it his way because: He was driven by rebellion instead of loving obedience. As I look at the life of Saul I see someone who was extremely willful and very much in love with himself. He kind of loved God, but most of all he loved himself. He would obey God, as long as God’s will did not conflict or interfere with his will. He would do what God wanted him to do, unless there was something else he wanted to do. He had a religious flare but a rebellious heart. He used God for his own purposes. He wanted to offer sacrifices because he wanted God to bless his efforts. He wanted God’s guidance so he could be successful. But Saul was the center of his own universe. Truly, “rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.” To rebel against God leads to the worship of self. The worship of self is idolatry. The Bible says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:7-10).
Learning how to obey God out of love is one of the most important things we can learn in life. It is not enough to go through religious ritual — Saul did that. It is not enough to talk about God — Saul did that too. It is not enough to be engaged in God’s work — Saul did that as well. The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. God does not want our worship unless it is backed up by a life lived out of love for him. Samuel said to Saul, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). God wants you, not your religious ritual. He wants a heart that longs for him rather than a person who merely does their duty.
It was the eleventh century, and King Henry III of Bavaria had grown tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. Hoping to escape the stress and demands of his position, he applied to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. “Your Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.” “I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.” “Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.” When King Henry died, a statement was written which said: “The king learned to rule by being obedient.”
If you want to rule your own life you must learn the lesson of obedience. Be careful of traces of a rebellious heart. Be very cautious of the tendency to want to make your life decisions by your own instincts, rather than waiting on God. Be careful of carrying God in your pocket like a good luck charm — taking him out only when you need him and keeping him hidden the rest of the time. Be careful of the kind of pride that can lead you away from God — thinking that everything you are and have are the result of your own effort. Pride is the belief that only weak people need God and that you are somehow different. Be careful of giving God a wink and going off to live life by your own effort. Be careful of forgetting that you are completely dependent on God. Be careful of trying it on your own before you resort to calling on God for his help. Be careful because these are the traits of a godless life — no matter how religious you might be.
Clarence Jordan was the author of the “Cotton Patch” version of the New Testament and was also founder of the interracial Koinonia farm in Americus, Georgia. He tells of being in another state where a minister was giving him a full tour of his church. With pride the minister pointed to the rich, imported pews and luxurious decorations. They finally went outside on their way home. It was getting dark out, and a spotlight was shining on a huge cross placed on the top the steeple. The minister said to Jordan, with obvious pride: “That cross alone cost us ten thousand dollars.” “You got cheated,” said Jordan. “Times were when Christians could get them for free.”
They are still free for anyone who wants one, for Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul” (Matthew 16:24-26).
Don’t come to the end of life saying, “I did it my way.” Live so that you can truthfully say, “I did it God’s way.”
Rodney J. Buchanan
March 26, 2000
I DID IT MY WAY
1 Samuel 13:1-14
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much
as in obeying the voice of the Lord? And to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22).
Saul did it his way because:
1. He was filled with _____________________ instead of ____________________________________________________ .
2. He was controlled by __________________ instead of ____________________________________________________ .
3. He was driven by ______________________ instead of
____________________________________________________ .
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (Mar 26, 2000)
1. What were the three things which led Saul to do it his way?
2. Read Proverbs 16:18. How did this principle work in the life of Saul.
3. What are the benefits of humility?
4. Why is it difficult for some to accept their dependence upon God?
5. Someone has said, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Why is this so often true?
6. Read Isaiah 30:18. Why is it hard to wait on God? Why is it so important?
7. Read Hebrews 11:6. What is it that pleases God? Why does it please him?
8. Samuel said, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” What was the meaning of this statement?
9. Read John 14:15. How are love and obedience related? Can you have one without the other?
10. Read 1 Peter 5:5. What are your feelings about this passage?
11. Why is it so hard to choose God’s will when our will is different from his will? How can we overcome this?
12. Read 1 Samuel 13:14. From where does God want our obedience to come? Why is this important?
