Daily D – 1 Samuel 13:10-12
1 Samuel 13:10-12 Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. So Saul went out to greet him, and Samuel asked, “What have you done?” Saul answered, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me and you didn’t come within the appointed days and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash, I thought, ‘The Philistines will now descend on me at Gilgal, and I haven’t sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.” (CSB)
1 Samuel 13:11-12 Samuel said, “What on earth are you doing?” Saul answered, “When I saw I was losing my army from under me, and that you hadn’t come when you said you would, and that the Philistines were poised at Micmash, I said, ‘The Philistines are about to come down on me in Gilgal, and I haven’t yet come before God asking for his help.’ _So I took things into my own hands_, and sacrificed the burnt offering.” (Emphasis added) (MSG)
1 Samuel 13:12 So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So _I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.” (Emphasis added) (NLT)
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Rule of Thumb: If you don’t know what to do, ask. Impulsivity and decisiveness are not the same thing. Also, If you don’t have the authority to take an action, don’t usurp it.
This, of course, directly contradicts the last words of a redneck: “Watch this.”
In a Watch-This world, we need to remember not to violate the Forrest Gump Rule: “Mama always said, ‘Stupid is as stupid does.’”
As Michael Scott taught Dwight on The Office: “Don’t be an idiot.” Like Dwight, we should ask ourselves more often, “Would an idiot do this thing? If so, I will not do this thing.” This is life-changing advice.
Saul, Forrest, and Dwight meet up in a public park. (I’m a Baptist. We don’t go to bars.) One of these is an idiot. Unfortunately, it’s the king.
Beware of anyone who thinks he is smarter than God.
Beware of anyone who does God’s will his own way.
Beware of anyone who knows the right thing to do and chooses to do something else instead due to impulsivity.
Impulse control is one of the most important lessons of life. Children learn this by their third year of life. Some adults seem to have regressed.
World champion table tennis players make one amazing play after another for hours. It is the discipline of years placing their excellence on display for all to see.
The more we rehearse, the more we practice, the more we spend time with God, the fewer impulsive decisions we make. It took three years of following Jesus to move Peter from impulsive behavior and speech into the rock-solid influence he became. Even then, he lapsed a time or two.
Beware your impulses. Give attention to all the wisdom you have gained and all you can borrow. Spend time reading God’s words of truth and life daily. Hang around with those who are ahead of you on the journey of faith. Ask good questions and take good notes. Live with disciplined attention to what is right, just, good, fair, and compassionate.
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I will live a disciplined life.
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Our Father, deliver me from impulsivity. Bless me with daily learning, growth, and development so that when a moment calls for an important decision on my part, I choose a well-studied response rather than an impulsive act. Amen.
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