Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Monday October 1, 2007

Yesterday I commented on the folly of King Saul in his refusal to do what God said to do God's way. When confronted about this willful refusal he, as do all weaklings, laid the blame at the feet of the people. The story is found in the 15th chapter of 1st Samuel and is loaded with principles that anyone will regret ignoring.

Due to space I limit my comments to one thought,

"to obey is better than sacrifice."

The context tells the story. And a painful story it is. On direct orders from God Samuel tells Saul, "Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath rejected thee from being king." I made a note right after this statement and I know it is true to the intent, the plain meaning for those of us who read the statement today:

(Rejecting God's word means you cannot rule over the area of your life addressed by the word, and each part affects the whole). (Perhaps Ben can use this one).

To illustrate; it is wise to observe the end of a person who rejects what God says about the willful abuse of wine, "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled (controlled) by the Spirit." I use this principle to point out the obvious; when wine has run its course and the person controlled by it is wasting away in the gutter with career gone, wife gone, children gone, health and mind gone, to say that the one area willfully permitted to run rampant has now rendered the entire life useless is not a true statement borders on insanity. By the time Saul's life came to its ignominious end, he had, as the context warned, entered into the sins of witchcraft, iniquity and idolatry. (Iniquity primarily means a deviation from just dealing)

. When Saul blamed his willful failure to do as God said on the "will of the people" he marked himself for all time as a loser. Winners accept responsibility and losers place blame. Blame placing started with Adam. In Christ we are to follow His example rather than the genetic one inherited from Adam. To place blame is only human, but then we who name Christ are to act differently for to do so is only Christian.

Greek tragedy presents the hero with a fatal flaw; while the scriptures portray the fatal flaw, they give the key to victory in spite of the fatal flaw tendency. The problem area must be brought under the control of God's word, along with the rest of your being. Failure to do this will result in the destruction of the entire person, as the fatal part grows like a cancer. Be it wine, anger, adultery, bitterness, any thought or thing the Lord addresses in His word, when you refuse His word on it, you are heading down a slippery slope to pain and despair, much like that of the Maniac of Gadara who ran through graveyards, naked and crying out while he tried to die and could not. The old song says it all in the words, "ALL to Jesus I surrender." It still works.

(Rejecting God"s word means you cannot rule over the area of your life addressed by the word, and each part affects the whole).

Beware the "little foxes" that spoil the vine.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit.

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