Message
As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
People should not chase after fame because of its potency to destroy. In , Saul’s father, Kish, was described as a mighty man of power who was also wealthy. Yet, Saul was obviously very humble because when his father sent him to search for their lost donkeys, he went without complaining. Even during the search, he listened to his servant’s advice to seek a prophet’s counsel concerning the lost animals (). When he became the king of Israel, he was humble in the first two years of his reign until he began to seek the approval of men. Saul forgot that it was God who appointed him king, and he began to chase after endorsements from men. The first time he did this was when the Philistines gathered against him, and Samuel delayed before joining him at Gilgal. When he saw the people scattering from him, he did what he wasn’t supposed to do by offering the burnt offering (). He did the wrong thing because he wanted to gain the people’s attention and approval. It was a costly mistake because it earned him God’s disapproval. When we allow the desire to gain people’s approval to move us into doing the wrong things, we have set ourselves against God.
In , despite his earlier mistake, God gave Saul a chance to repent. He instructed him to destroy the Amalekites. God’s command was clear:utterly destroy them and spare no one (). However, Saul, in his blind lust to be ‘a man of the people,’ went against God’s instructions (). When we seek fame above serving God, we have fallen into the trap of the fear of man because the Bible says that the fear of man brings a snare ().
People who desperately seek fame will compromise God’s standards to please people. At the end of the day, such people, like Saul, will lose out because God will not trust a man who desperately desires fame with the precious matters of His Kingdom.
Beloved, do not chase after the approval of men. Rather, let God’s approval be your primary motivation. When you fear the Lord and serve Him wholeheartedly, He will position you to influence others for Him.