Christian Living

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My wife left me at home alone with our 2 children one day not long ago which, as usual, was probably not a good idea. You would think she would learn at some point to stop doing that; it’s just asking for trouble. On this particular day my daughter, who was 13 at the time, decided she was bored with just sitting around the house and needed something to do. Sometimes great ideas are born out of boredom; this was not one of those times. We have a dog. She’s a fairly big dog and, let’s just say, has a lot of energy. She is also an outside dog that is not allowed in the house. We do bring her into the garage on very cold days, but that’s about it. And, to be honest, she prefers it that way. She doesn’t like to be inside. Anyway, on this nice, warm summer day my bored daughter devised a brilliant plan to sneak our large, energetic dog into her bedroom and play with her there. With her observant dad home alone and in charge she didn’t have much trouble accomplishing that. She brought her right in the front door, down the hall and into her bedroom. A few minutes later I heard a racket in my daughter’s room and went to investigate. “Are you guys OK in there?” I asked through the closed door. “We’re fine” came the reply from my daughter. “What was that noise?” I asked. “Oh, nothing. Nothing”, was the answer I received. (I think nothing’s tail had just knocked some pictures off of my daughter’s desk). A little suspicious, but really just happy that my daughter and son seemed to be happy spending time together, I went back to whatever I was doing. Soon after that Boomer, the dog, spotted a bird outside of my daughter’s window. Needless to say, that was the end of her short-lived stay in the house. When I asked my daughter why she felt the need to sneak the dog into the house when she knew she wasn’t supposed to, her reply was “well, you haven’t taken her for a walk in a while, and I was bored and thought she needed somebody to play with.”

It occurs to me that sin is like trying to sneak a 70 pound dog into your bedroom.

1. You have to try and sneak it in when nobody’s looking because you know it’s wrong.
2. Even when it might seem like you are getting away with it, damage is being done. Relationships are being hurt, families are being torn apart, we find ourselves drifting further and further away from God.
3. When confronted about our sin there are three, I think, pretty typical responses:
a. Lying about it (“What’s going in there?” “Oh, nothing. Nothing”).
b. Blaming others (“You haven’t taken her for a walk.”).
c. Justifying it (“She needed somebody to play with.”).

As I was reading about King David I came across a passage of scripture that I think illustrates this very well. The passage actually does not talk about David at all. In fact, the incident involved occurs before we are ever introduced to David. This particular incident involves Saul, the man who was king before David ascended to the throne. It is found in I Samuel 15: 1-22, and it tells of a time that Saul sinned against God and then used all three of these responses when confronted about it. Saul was commanded to go and destroy the Amalekites, along with everything they possessed. Not a person or possession was to be left when he was through with them. Saul and his men went and defeated the Amalekites as commanded; however, when they looked on some of the things possessed by the Amalekites they decided to take “all that was good” with them when they returned to their own land. God tells Samuel what Saul has done, and Samuel then goes to confront Saul about his sin. Saul then tries out tactic number one, he lies about his sin:

Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” (I Samuel 15:13)

“I did everything you told me to do Samuel”. Saul knew he hadn’t done everything he was told to do. He knew he had fallen short by not destroying everything as he was commanded to do. His lie was an attempt to cover that up. But, his attempt would fall short as the very things he and his men brought back with them would cast light on their sin. Almost on cue, the sheep and oxen began to make themselves known to Samuel.

But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” (I Samuel 15:14)

You have to give Saul credit for one thing; he doesn’t give up easily. Since lying didn’t work, he moves to tactic two; he blames someone else:

And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” (I Samuel 15:15)

“It’s not my fault Samuel, the people did it.” Saul was a weak leader, and one that didn’t mind blaming the people he was supposed to be ruling over when things went wrong. Saul was supposed to be the one in charge. He was supposed to be the one to stand up and say “this is what God said to do and we’re going to do it.” His failure in that area would cost him dearly.

Finally, when all else fails Saul tries tactic three, justifying the sin:

And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. “But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

“We had a good reason for bringing these things back Samuel. We weren’t going to keep them. We brought them to sacrifice to God.” Samuel, in desperation, tries to justify not obeying God’s commandment.

I also want to look at a couple of responses Samuel had to Saul’s words. Let’s look first at what Samuel had to say in I Samuel 15:16:

Then Samuel said to Saul, “Be quiet! And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Shut up Saul, I don’t want to hear it.” Saul didn’t want to hear Saul’s lies or excuses, because he knew what God had told him. Sometimes sin just has to be confronted, especially when it goes directly against God’s commands.

I also want to look at I Samuel 16:22:

So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.”

I believe, in some ways, Samuel is saying “I don’t believe you Saul. I don’t believe this isn’t your fault, and I don’t believe these things were brought back to be sacrificed to the Lord. But, I will give you the benefit of the doubt. You say they were brought back to be sacrificed? Guess what? You’re still wrong, because you didn’t do what God told you to do. It’s better to obey than to sacrifice.” We can’t justify not doing what God tells us to do, no matter how hard we try.

Do you know why I think God couldn’t allow Saul to get away with his sin? Because he had disobeyed God’s word, certainly, but I also think it goes further than that. Saul wasn’t just responsible for himself; he was responsible for an entire nation. What he did had an impact on the entire nation of Israel. He could have stood up and done what he knew to be right, and the people would have followed. But when he allowed wrong to be done, the people followed that as well. What would the next step have been? How far away from God would he have led the people had God allowed it to happen? Our sin doesn’t just affect us, it affects those around us: our families, our friends, those who are watching how we behave as Christians. When there is sin in your life don’t follow Saul’s example. Don’t try to hide it, lie about it or justify it. Do what Samuel did. Confront it. Not through your own strength, but through Christ’s strength. Then, turn back to God, lay it at his feet and ask His forgiveness.

If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14)

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