SAUL: PARTIAL OBEDIENCE (6 OF 18)
Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:1-23
This content is part of a series.
Saul: Partial Obedience
Series: Lessons from the Lives of OT Characters
Stephen Whitney
1 Samuel 15:1-23
Chuck Swindoll told a story when he was in his early teens that he had a newspaper route. He delivered the Houston Press to homes for a couple of years. It was a good job, but it got tiring doing the same thing day after day - delivering newspapers.
After a long afternoon of folding about 200 papers, and delivering them he turned to go home on his bike. He remembers coming to the backyard of a large home at the corner across the street from his house. He thought to himself no need to go all the way down to the end of the street and around this big yard. I’ll just cut across and be home quicker. It was a quick and easy shortcut. The first time that he did it he felt a little twinge of guilt as he rode across the nice, plush grass. Not only was a beautiful yard, but the neighbor was very particular about keeping it. Chuck watched him manicure it week after week. Still, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to ride across it just once.
Late the next afternoon he came tooling down the street, thinking, I wonder if I ought to use that same shortcut? He did with less guilt than he had the first time. Theoretically, he knew he shouldn’t; but practically, he rationalized around the wrong.
In less than two weeks his bicycle tires had begun to wear a narrow path across the yard. He knew in his heart he should go down and around the corner, but he didn’t. He said he just shoved those guilty feelings down out of sight.
Why do we do what we know to be wrong? 1. We let our sinful nature control us - we call it human nature. 2. We don’t want to be told what to do - we call it independence. 3. We think we know what is better - we call it pride.
Background Deuteronomy 25:17-19 Amalekites were descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:12,16) were nomadic desert people who lived in southern Judah toward Egypt. Remember what Analek did to you along the way when you came out of E ...
Series: Lessons from the Lives of OT Characters
Stephen Whitney
1 Samuel 15:1-23
Chuck Swindoll told a story when he was in his early teens that he had a newspaper route. He delivered the Houston Press to homes for a couple of years. It was a good job, but it got tiring doing the same thing day after day - delivering newspapers.
After a long afternoon of folding about 200 papers, and delivering them he turned to go home on his bike. He remembers coming to the backyard of a large home at the corner across the street from his house. He thought to himself no need to go all the way down to the end of the street and around this big yard. I’ll just cut across and be home quicker. It was a quick and easy shortcut. The first time that he did it he felt a little twinge of guilt as he rode across the nice, plush grass. Not only was a beautiful yard, but the neighbor was very particular about keeping it. Chuck watched him manicure it week after week. Still, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to ride across it just once.
Late the next afternoon he came tooling down the street, thinking, I wonder if I ought to use that same shortcut? He did with less guilt than he had the first time. Theoretically, he knew he shouldn’t; but practically, he rationalized around the wrong.
In less than two weeks his bicycle tires had begun to wear a narrow path across the yard. He knew in his heart he should go down and around the corner, but he didn’t. He said he just shoved those guilty feelings down out of sight.
Why do we do what we know to be wrong? 1. We let our sinful nature control us - we call it human nature. 2. We don’t want to be told what to do - we call it independence. 3. We think we know what is better - we call it pride.
Background Deuteronomy 25:17-19 Amalekites were descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:12,16) were nomadic desert people who lived in southern Judah toward Egypt. Remember what Analek did to you along the way when you came out of E ...
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