At Israel’s request for a king, Saul was appointed and
anointed as their first, by the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 10). When Samuel gathered the people together to confirm
the new king, he couldn’t be found. God had to reveal to Samuel where Saul was and
Samuel may have had doubts about God’s choice when he discovered the new king was hiding
among the supplies. This man, though tall and handsome, had major confidence
issues.
Can you imagine a president of the United States so insecure that he
hides in a White House closet on Inauguration Day and someone has to find and
convince him to show up for the ceremony? That was Saul!
Fast forward five chapters and several years and we find
Saul a very different man. He has now disobeyed God’s battle orders in several wars against neighboring
nations, and has gone so far as to set up a monument to himself (1 Samuel
12:15). King Saul is so confidently full of himself, he actually believes he has
done God a favor in his disobedience, and when he is confronted by Samuel, Saul
is more worried about what the people will think (verse 30) than what he has
done.
Centuries later, another Saul, highly educated and convinced
of his own righteousness in Pharisee law, persecutes and kills those following the way of Jesus, who claims to be the Messiah, the Son of God. In the
early days of the church, Saul, becomes a believer and is called to preach the
Gospel after a dramatic and personal encounter with Jesus (Acts 9). Saul, renamed Paul, is
given great revelation from God and becomes a man of incredible influence, an
Apostle and a leader among leaders - traveling, establishing churches, speaking and writing. His
revelations from God comprise a significant amount of the Bible’s New
Testament.
Paul was a very prideful man before his conversion. It would have been easy for him to transfer this
pride to the new authority and knowledge he was given, but to prevent him from
becoming haughty and conceited, Paul admits, “lest I be exalted above measure by the abundance of revelations, a
thorn in the flesh was given to me,” something that continuously troubled
and battered him. Scholars differ about what that thorn might have been, but Paul
states clearly its purpose was to keep him humble, his feet firmly planted on
solid ground, his heart continuously searched and surrendered before God (2 Corinthians
12:6-10).
There’s a huge lesson
in the account of these two Sauls for those who are in leader roles. Abraham
Lincoln said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a
man's character, give him power.” Whether you lead a family, a classroom, a committee,
a boardroom, a business, platoon, army, ministry, church, city, state or country
– beware! Pride and power NEVER mix.
It’s easy to lose perspective in a place of
authority, a few accolades and victories, several successes under our belt and
we gradually forget our humble beginnings and what God has brought us from. We start
building monuments to our self and our accomplishments, using position for
selfish gain and putting power ahead of serving people. Sometimes it’s such a subtle slide we don’t
even see it happening until we’ve gone too far. Always be on the alert for the
danger of leader pride!
Paul pleaded with God for his “thorn” to be removed and God
said no. If you are a leader and have a thorn in the flesh, some circumstance,
trouble, irritation, frustration, that keeps you planted and rooted in the
reality of who you are without Christ, be thankful for it! If you
don’t…well…you might want to ask for one.
It could be the thing that saves your heart, life, reputation and the people you are called to help and serve.
It could be the thing that saves your heart, life, reputation and the people you are called to help and serve.
Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6 “God opposes the proud, but
gives grace to the humble.”
Ultimately, the only
power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself. ~Elie
Wiesel~
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