The Example of King Saul
Character is one of those things that is so difficult to build up and yet so easy to ruin.
I had a friend who once told me that her favorite character in the Bible was King Saul. I thought that was an odd choice at first. Saul doesn't exactly have the best of reputations. In fact, his kingship and life ended quite tragically. I've never heard anyone choose Saul as their favorite Bible hero. But her reasoning made a lot of sense. She said that King Saul was exactly who she didn't want to become. Saul is an example of someone we can learn from in terms of what not to do.
The story of the first king of Israel is both sad and tragic. King Saul actually seemed to start off well in his kingship. He had humility. He didn't make rash decisions. He seemed to have characteristics that I could see myself imitating. One particular episode in his life comes to mind. When Saul was made king over Israel, there were some people who resented his appointment and criticized him. Saul could have done a number of things to these "worthless fellows" (1 Sam. 10:27 ESV). But he didn't do anything rash. He let it be. The Bible tells us that Saul "held his peace" (1 Sam. 10:27 ESV). Later, when Saul proved himself in battle, some suggested that he execute the worthless fellows who resented and criticized him. Saul refused to do so (see 1 Sam. 11:12-13). At the beginning of his career, King Saul seemed to be a person of wisdom and character.
Unfortunately, it didn't last until the end. The latter part of Saul's life was marred with pride, rash decision-making, disobedience to God, and violence. This underscores how easy it is to lose our good character and go the other way if we don't continue to cultivate ourselves and our relationship with God.
Character is one of those things that is so difficult to build up and yet so easy to ruin in a short span of time. It takes years to develop good character. But it might only take a split second for a good reputation to be marred with a single unwise decision. Let us remain vigilant in cultivating our character and our relationship with Christ every single day. We don't just want to start off well. We want to end well too.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
