Who's Image is Worth Protecting

I have been reading 1 Samuel this past week. Samuel’s miraculous birth, his ministering to the Lord before He actually knew the Lord, (Something to be grasped) the rejection of God by the people and the honored request to be like all of the other nations and serve under a king. (There is another great nugget of truth there also). King Saul started out very humble, even was among the prophets, but fear and face got in the way of totally trusting in the Lord and it cost him and his descendants the kingdom.

One of my favorite mentors, he is a friend really but when given the chance will speak into my life. During a very dark period of my life this friend challenged my identity, challenged my performance-motivated pursuit of life. Most of us do not like and try to avoid failure at all costs. For some, it is an unspoken competition that is played inside the head while others will overtly taunt and wager. The bottom line though is still the same, I not only want to be “better” than you, but I don’t want to fail in the process. My goal is to look better than you, without you even knowing my true intentions. So much for my internal and now exposed dysfunction. (I know what you are thinking…just one of many)

Let’s see how this plays out in the life of king Saul.

We don’t see Saul being a blessed king for very long. He is found hiding among the luggage at his inaugural crowning, prophesizes with a few prophets and then does a huge blunder by totally disobeying God. He starts of in chapter 13 by offering the sacrifice that Samuel the true Prophet was to do. Next he makes a foolish oath about fasting that almost got his son Jonathan killed. The final straw we see in chapter 15 where he disobeys the Lord by not totally destroying the Amalekites and then takes the choice plunder. When you read the text as I strongly encourage you to do, you see how Saul was motivated by fear and “face”. Saul claimed that his actions where motivated by the and for the Lord, but in reality he was more concern how he would look to the people. In fact, when you read on you see his beef with David was all about what the people said about the two mighty men. Saul was all about performance as his mode of fulfillment. Pleasing people was first and foremost on his mind even though he claimed to do it for the Lord. Do you know any people like that?

So why do you do what you do? Is it to please your boss, your co-workers, neighbors, friends, parent/s, spouse, children etc.? Now answer that question truthfully. I have even heard people say they don’t want their church to look bad. Think about that statement for a moment. We are the church, and not the building or organization you frequently attend. Since Jesus is the “head of the church” shouldn’t we desire to honor Him, please Him, and not make Him look bad? When we honor and obey Jesus when we strive to protect His image (even though He doesn’t need our help) and desire to mirror Him; that is called worship. (Romans 12:1-2) We will either worship the god that we have created or the God who created us. So the overriding question is whose image are you protecting yours, your church’s, your pastor’s, your boss’s, or your Lord Jesus Christ? The real answer to that question will determine the direction your life takes.

What's Your Story?

People love to hear good stories. I let my wife tell stories that involve me because she adds more details and makes me sound much better than I really am.  In fact, telling stories is how Jill’s family communicates when we all get together. If you are anything like me, you provide the hearer only the “Cliff Notes”, the main point with something that may or may not coincide. Stories have the ability to explain what happen or they illustrate a particular point. The bible is full of such stories, from Moses to John’s Revelation of Jesus. In fact, Jesus was an amazing storyteller.  He not only drew people into what he was saying, but he had a zinger of an ending that left you thinking and or examining your heart.

You and I have a story to tell. Some of these stories are true while others have some interesting “fisherman or pastoral” embellishments. The older we get the shorter our stories actually get because the life events get compressed and their significance tend to lessen.  High school for example, could be stated in one or two sentences. I graduated from Orange High school in 1982, played varsity baseball and led an on campus bible study.  Now obviously a lot more took place in those three years, but for the sake of time and necessity that part of the story gets limited attention.  Many people including myself really have two totally different life stories, one a “BC” (Before Christ) life and one of a transformed into a follower of Christ life, but the two are really just one story.

Everyday we have the opportunity to both tell our story and add another chapter to the one we currently have.  Joseph had a great story to tell when he was sold by his brothers into slavery and shipped off to Egypt. There he was able to add another great chapter when he was falsely throne into prison for allegedly trying to rape his master’s wife. We read later that he ends up being the second in command under Pharaoh ruler of Egypt saving the known world from starvation during a seven-year famine. (Read Genesis chapters 37-50 for a richer telling of the life story of Joseph).  In every step of Joe’s life he had tests and choices to make whether he would take the easy way out and have his life story based on a lie or continue to live his life in the highest level of integrity. 

Our life story, like Joseph’s always has options to the chapters we live.  So often we have choices placed before us that can determine the direction we will pursue with the potential of radically changing the remainder of our lives. Looking back we can identify decisions made that have scarred or propelled us towards amazing places and opportunities.  I made some financial, career and relational choices that could have gone better.  They are stories I wish I could tear out of my book.

Part of looking ahead and learning how to make better choices for the future is to ask what will be the story that I tell when this life page is filled and turned? If I go in this particular direction, will this be a positive God honoring part of my life story or will it be a page or chapter I would like to soon forget?  Is this decision based on the desire for power, profit or promotion? Does it make sense right now but could sabotage parts of my life in the future? Bottom line, how will this choice affect my story of being a follower of Jesus Christ? How will this choice as good as it may appear right now affect my family, my friends and my witness for Christ?  

One last thought on making some life changing decisions. At first an opportunity may not look like a life changing decision. It may look perfect and “from God” but buyer beware. This is where the body of Christ comes into play. This is where your small group your close Christian friends can help you shed light on the direction you need to pursue. If they immediately think it is a good idea…again buyer beware! Make sure your decisions are bathed in prayer, bathed in God’s word and bathed in a receptive hearing heart. If it seems like a perfect situation…it might be, but please heed the Holy Spirit, heed those you share life with and allow yourself to pause and listen to all that is being disseminated on your behalf.