The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
(1 Samuel 31:8-10 ESV)
Make no mistake about it: When we fall or fail, there will be someone there to make sure everyone sees and hears, in any way possible. It may be in the form of personal abuse, publishing it for all to "read", or even using it to make him or her look better to someone else (like placing Saul's armor before their goddess.) You can count on it. But are you ready for it? Saul was afraid of such treatment when he was still alive. But did he understand what such treatment meant for everyone else around? It was not just Saul who was being insulted; it was God. In their minds Saul had lost, so he God had lost as well. It is not that we will never fall or fail, but that we consider what the fallout of our failure will be for others, and for the name of God. Sadly, news of Saul's death was spread here as "good news." It was far from the good news of the gospel. May we live in such a way that even when we fail, there is something positive for all to see. We'll see an example tomorrow...
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