The passage below gives us insights into what happens when a leader starts to sin, make bad choices or decisions. It is what happened with Saul and it happens to current leader's. Psalms 1 says,
Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers. (NIV)
The process starts with walking (Movement) then to standing, and finally sitting (Staying still). The decline of a Christian leader starts with bad choices with an unrepeated heart, that leads them to their eventual fall. This is what happened to Saul. The sin, choices and decisions he made over his life lead to his downfall. Here is the result of Saul's unrepeated heart toward his choices and sin, it can be found in 1 Samuel 31:1-6
"Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely. Saul groaned to his armor bearer, “Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to run me through and taunt and torture me.”But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died beside the king. So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day."
Saul's outcome was years in the making, which is the same with most people's downfall. Here are some things we can learn from Saul's downfall,
Leader's need to have and maintain good character and integrity.
Leader's need to be accountable and own up to their bad choices.
Leader's actions always affect other people.
Leader's should point the finger at themselves when they make a bad choice or when
things go wrong.
Leader's need to be careful with the choices and decisions they make.
Leader's know either the good or bad they do will eventually catch up to them.
Leader's need to be careful with who they associate with.
What are your thoughts about king Saul's downfall? Feel free to add to the list.
Goes along with you last one I am pretty sure: Leaders need to be careful whom they seek advice from. Good reading Dan.
ReplyDeleteBill,
ReplyDeleteI would add that they need to be careful of the decisions they make. Both in their personal and professional life. Thank you for adding to the post.