Act Like It!

            “Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, O Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse also give to all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?  For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day”” (1 Samuel 22:7–8).

            What an embarrassment Saul had become to himself and to the people he was chosen to lead!  At this point in the narrative, the king has stooped to bribery and whining in a weak attempt to shore up his crumbling regime.  Ever since God removed His Spirit from him due to his rebellion (1 Samuel 16:14), things had been getting steadily worse for Saul.  Jealousy, homicidal ravings, and sinister plotting have now given way to cronyism, pathetic sniveling, and paranoia.  So much for kingly deportment!  There are words and actions that are worthy of the title and Saul lost sight of both.  The king was speaking and acting more like a criminal.

            There are also words and actions worthy of us as sons and daughters of the King of Kings.  The New Testament repeatedly calls each of us to live in a manner that is consistent with our calling as disciples of Christ (cf. Ephesians 4:1; Philippians 1:27; Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12).  Being part of God’s royal family brings with it an expectation that we carry ourselves in such a way that doesn’t bring shame or embarrassment to the name we bear (2 Timothy 2:19).  Brothers and sisters, we are royalty, not beggars.  We are saints, not slaves.  We live in a kingdom, not a gutter.  Let’s act like it!

God loves you!

Mike