Fish farmers in the southern U.S. had a small problem. Algae was filling their ponds, so they took the seemingly innocent step of importing Asian carp—which can grow to 100 pounds and eat 40 percent of their body weight each day—to clean the bottom of their ponds. But flooding swept the carp into the Mississippi River, which they navigated until they entered the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a mere 40 miles from Lake Michigan.
Now the entire region has a large problem, for if the Asian carp reach Lake Michigan, their insatiable appetite for plankton may upset the food chain and disrupt the Great Lakes’ $7 billion-per-year fishing industry.
Little acts can have large consequences. King Saul lost his kingdom for two small sins. His first mistake was not waiting for Samuel to arrive to offer sacrifices. But who can blame him? Samuel was late (from Saul’s perspective) and Saul’s army was slipping away. If Saul didn’t seek the Lord’s favor soon, he would go to war without God’s blessing (1 Samuel 13:5-9).
Saul’s second failure came on the heels of a signature victory. His armies defeated the Amalekites; but rather than destroy everything as God had commanded, Saul and his men “kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them” (1 Samuel 15:9).
The root of these seemingly insignificant sins was the sin of fear. Saul feared losing his army, either by not offering the sacrifice fast enough or by sacrificing something his men wanted. But he feared his men more than he feared God, and God responded by revoking his kingship.
Learn the lesson of Saul: some sins are understandable, but none are excusable—and all are devastating.
More:
• 1 Samuel 15:1-23
• Luke 16:10-13
• Acts 5:27-32
Next:
Do you feel pressured by circumstances or other people to do something that you know is wrong? How might you use this opportunity to demonstrate your trust in God?
daisymarygoldr on December 20, 2010 at 10:49 am
No sin is excusable, is indeed a very valuable lesson to be learned!
The “fear” factor was simply King Saul’s excuse to justify his sin by placing the blame on people. His mercy to spare the Amalekites’ king and cattle was no doubt a small sin. Nonetheless, it was misplaced mercy to liberate humanity which was his will and not God’s will as it did not honor His clear commands. When confronted Saul did not accept his wrongdoing to humble himself before God.
In reality, Saul was a perfect picture of humility and modesty. When Samuel had anointed him as king, Saul did not tell his family about it. When Samuel presented King Saul to the people, he went into hiding. When some mocked Saul as unsuitable to be king he remained silent. Samuel himself testified to the fact that Saul was once small in his own eyes (1 Sam 15:17).
What went wrong?
The root cause for Saul’s seemingly insignificant sin that cost him his throne was pride—the original sin of Lucifer the anointed cherub in Eden, the garden of God. Saul was certainly sorry—that he had been caught but was not sorry for his disobedience. Like Judas (who betrayed our Lord), he was more concerned about his honor (1 Sam 15:30) instead of seeking to honor God.
Lesson that I learned from King Saul is: Any and every sin is rooted in pride and is a deliberate disobedience to God’s will. I can be full of pride in trying to have my way and will, while appearing to be humble and modest in my own eyes. It is best to judge myself from God’s proper perspective based on His Word.
And when through God’s Word the Holy Spirit convicts me of sin—big or small, wisdom is to readily accept my wrongdoing instead of blaming people and to humble myself before God. True humility always seeks to honor God and His will even if it means to lose my own honor in the eyes of the world.