Lesson's from Saul?
A few days ago I posed the question on Facebook: Does power corrupt people or do people who are already corrupt tend to rise to positions of power. It seems like many of our leaders (at work, in politics, etc.) start out as seemingly nice folks until they rise to positions of power where they often get caught up in deception, corruption, greed, and scandal. So it begs a "chicken or the egg" type question of which came first, the corruption or the power.
I have been reading 1 Samuel recently. Not for any particular reason other than I had never read it in its entirety. I was intrigued by Saul's story. I had always heard the portions of 1 Samuel where Saul was bent on killing David, but his son Jonathan time and again helped David escape. This story was generally taught as a lesson in brotherly love. I always saw Saul as the "bad guy", the antagonist of the story. Upon reading Saul's whole story, though, I see a more full picture emerge, one that eerily resembles leaders I have witnessed in my own life.
Saul's sad tale starts with Samuel, the priest and judge. Samuel's story is pretty interesting too, since he was the child Hannah had prayed fervently for years for God to give her and the same child she gave back to God when he was old enough to study under the priest. Samuel had been a godly, wise leader of the people of Israel but as an old man was unable to enter retirement because his own sons weren't qualified to take on the job. The people were anxious to have a leader who could compete with the secular leaders around them and demanded a king to take the lead. Their demands for a king were based in fear. They didn't believe God could protect and provide for them against nations like the Philistines and the Israelites felt that a king was the answer. Saul was a Jewish man of standing in the community who was also physically dominant. He was actually taller than everyone else. His reign started out well enough and Saul was God's annointed choice. As time wore on, though, things started to change. He started to deviate from God's plans and commands. When the pressure was on, Saul started to become paranoid and defensive, covering his tracks with deception. It was in his disobedience that God began raising up a replacement, a man after God's own heart. David. This is where we get into the whole David vs. Goliath story. Once David was introduced on the scene, Saul's paranoia became increasingly evident and he began doing whatever it took to squelch the threats to his power. Including attempted murder.
The question remains: Was Saul corrupt when things began? Or did the position of power corrupt him? I suppose that having a king lead Israel instead of a judge was outside God's perfect plan. Perhaps the whole thing was doomed from the start. Other than being taller than everyone else, we have no reason to distrust Saul's upbringing or character. The case could be made that the position of power corrupted him, that he let his successes go to his head and that he took the credit for the successes God handed him. Thus his downfall.
In my opinion, I think that many who rise to positions of power have common personality characteristics. They tend to be assertive, outgoing, decisive, influential/charasmatic types who tend to always get placed as the leaders of the activities or groups of which they are part. People are naturally drawn to them, want to emulate them. I think for that particular personality type, the negatives tend to include aggression, risk taking, poor team skills, being overly emotion-driven, hair-trigger actions/decisions and not being logical or analytical enough. When they rise to positions of power over others it seems that many of these negative qualities aren't kept in check because no one provides accountability for them anymore. Eventually these qualities can run amok and these leaders are caught up in the fruits of their actions, including lies, paranoia, scandal, and maybe even doing whatever it takes to get rid of those who are a threat to their power.
Maybe it doesn't matter which came first, the power or the corruption. It is the fruit of the leader that are important. We as Christians are called to demand much of ourselves, to be like Christ himself. If we are in a position of authority over others we are called to an even higher standard and will be judged more harshly for it. I do know that I don't serve these earthly leaders. I serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the leader of all my earthly leaders and He is in control, even in the moments when earthly leaders, like Saul, are embroiled in madness and seem to be getting away with murder. Praise God for being sovereign!
I have been reading 1 Samuel recently. Not for any particular reason other than I had never read it in its entirety. I was intrigued by Saul's story. I had always heard the portions of 1 Samuel where Saul was bent on killing David, but his son Jonathan time and again helped David escape. This story was generally taught as a lesson in brotherly love. I always saw Saul as the "bad guy", the antagonist of the story. Upon reading Saul's whole story, though, I see a more full picture emerge, one that eerily resembles leaders I have witnessed in my own life.
Saul's sad tale starts with Samuel, the priest and judge. Samuel's story is pretty interesting too, since he was the child Hannah had prayed fervently for years for God to give her and the same child she gave back to God when he was old enough to study under the priest. Samuel had been a godly, wise leader of the people of Israel but as an old man was unable to enter retirement because his own sons weren't qualified to take on the job. The people were anxious to have a leader who could compete with the secular leaders around them and demanded a king to take the lead. Their demands for a king were based in fear. They didn't believe God could protect and provide for them against nations like the Philistines and the Israelites felt that a king was the answer. Saul was a Jewish man of standing in the community who was also physically dominant. He was actually taller than everyone else. His reign started out well enough and Saul was God's annointed choice. As time wore on, though, things started to change. He started to deviate from God's plans and commands. When the pressure was on, Saul started to become paranoid and defensive, covering his tracks with deception. It was in his disobedience that God began raising up a replacement, a man after God's own heart. David. This is where we get into the whole David vs. Goliath story. Once David was introduced on the scene, Saul's paranoia became increasingly evident and he began doing whatever it took to squelch the threats to his power. Including attempted murder.
The question remains: Was Saul corrupt when things began? Or did the position of power corrupt him? I suppose that having a king lead Israel instead of a judge was outside God's perfect plan. Perhaps the whole thing was doomed from the start. Other than being taller than everyone else, we have no reason to distrust Saul's upbringing or character. The case could be made that the position of power corrupted him, that he let his successes go to his head and that he took the credit for the successes God handed him. Thus his downfall.
In my opinion, I think that many who rise to positions of power have common personality characteristics. They tend to be assertive, outgoing, decisive, influential/charasmatic types who tend to always get placed as the leaders of the activities or groups of which they are part. People are naturally drawn to them, want to emulate them. I think for that particular personality type, the negatives tend to include aggression, risk taking, poor team skills, being overly emotion-driven, hair-trigger actions/decisions and not being logical or analytical enough. When they rise to positions of power over others it seems that many of these negative qualities aren't kept in check because no one provides accountability for them anymore. Eventually these qualities can run amok and these leaders are caught up in the fruits of their actions, including lies, paranoia, scandal, and maybe even doing whatever it takes to get rid of those who are a threat to their power.
Maybe it doesn't matter which came first, the power or the corruption. It is the fruit of the leader that are important. We as Christians are called to demand much of ourselves, to be like Christ himself. If we are in a position of authority over others we are called to an even higher standard and will be judged more harshly for it. I do know that I don't serve these earthly leaders. I serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the leader of all my earthly leaders and He is in control, even in the moments when earthly leaders, like Saul, are embroiled in madness and seem to be getting away with murder. Praise God for being sovereign!
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