Friday February 25, 2022

Do not imitate king Saul ! (2)

“I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4. 7

It is better to take the example of Saul, who became Paul, the apostle-missionary. Unlike King Saul, he lacked physical presence and charisma. Nevertheless, just before dying he confided to Timothy, in his last letter : “I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith. From now on, the crown of justice is reserved for me. The Lord, the just Judge, will deliver it to me on that day” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). What a contrast to King Saul's “I behaved stupidly” ! How do their behaviors differ ?

1- Saul knew God, he had recognized Him as the author of his victory over the enemies of Israel but he did not deign to accept Him as master of his life and actions. On the contrary, he disobeyed Him several times. Paul, on the other hand, was led by the Spirit and had surrendered his will to that of God (Acts 16:6-10).

2- Saul did not draw any lessons from his past. He repeated the same mistakes. He cried out “I have sinned” twice, without changing his behavior. The behavioral change in Paul's life was dramatic ! From a persecutor of the Church, he became one of its most ardent defenders. To convert is to confess one's sins and then to turn around. That Saul never did, getting more mired in error.

3- Saul surrounded himself at the beginning with competent men, good advisers (1 Samuel 26. 26), in addition to Samuel. But he quickly turned away from their good advice. Paul also surrounded himself with men of worth, but never separated from their support (Timothy, Luke, Silas and many others).

4- The only thing that interested Saul was his reputation. Even after acknowledging that he had sinned, he begged Samuel to stay by his side to give his troops a good impression (1 Samuel 15:30). The only thing that mattered to Paul was the gospel and the Church of Christ, as he explains in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 9:19-27). Let's imitate Paul, rather than Saul !

Source (His Word for Today)