The Slippery Slope Of Success

READ: 1 Samuel 15:10-23

When you were little in your own eyes, . . . did not the Lordanoint you king over Israel? —1 Samuel 15:17

Among the more than 19,000 original epigrams penned by chemist and writer Dr. O. A. Battista is this wise observation: “You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity.” Unfortunately, just the opposite often happens when something we have done is praised and rewarded. A humble heart can quickly become a swelled head.

Just before Saul was anointed king, he saw himself as a member of an insignificant family in the smallest tribe of Israel (1 Sam. 9:21). Within a few years, however, he had erected a monument in his own honour and had become the supreme authority for his conduct (15:11-12). The prophet Samuel confronted Saul for…