Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” – 1 Samuel 15:12
Just because we have a clear conscience isn’t a testimony to our innocence. Sometimes it’s indicative of just how blind we are to our sinful nature.
Whether Saul was oblivious to his sin or willfully disobedient, we don’t know. Only he and God would know that. But either way, it still takes a lot of nerve for a king who was appointed by God to try to steal the glory from God by erecting a monument to honor himself.
And to add salt to his wounds, it essentially became a memorial for his sinful disobedience. And make no mistake, partial obedience is still disobedience!
Speaking of memorializing sin… as I was putting my thoughts together for today’s devotional, I couldn’t help but think about the total abomination that was on display to the world last week during the opening ceremony to the 2024 Olympic Games.
I’m not easily offended these days, especially given how overly sensitive our culture has become. But the blasphemous mockery of Jesus Christ during The Last Supper, being portrayed by sexually immoral men pretending to be women, was utterly beyond the pale. The thought also occurred to me that had the opening ceremony involved Islam and the prophet Muhammad instead of Christianity and Jesus, Paris would probably still be burning today. But those darned Christians, you know how they just love to overreact!
Former Blackout Artist 