As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” (1 Samuel 13:10-12 ESV)
Saul had been caught in the act. He had disobeyed God's command through Samuel and was caught with the smoking altar. He tried to act like nothing was wrong, justifying his actions, blaming the people for their peer pressure - even blaming Samuel for not being on time. It was even the Philistines' fault! Everyone but him. When confronted with wrongdoing, what is your first response? Do you take responsibility, or like Saul, recoil into finger-pointing mode. This is is the first step in a downward spiral. The second is to dwell on what we have done right: he offered sacrifice, even forced himself to do so. He said he knew that he had to offer sacrifice to receive God's favor. The fact is, God wants us to give because we have received His favor. It is an act of love, not a lever to pull. So there it is. How will I respond? Defensively, blaming everyone else and trying to convince God and myself that I did right? If I swallow those lies, I'm bound to fall for anything.
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