Have you ever done something in business to honor God, but your actions were actually sinful in the end? This is more common than you might think. King Saul in 1 Samuel 15 gives us a clear example of how quickly we can fall off track and how blind we can be to our own sin.
In verses 1-3 God commands Saul through Samuel “Attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” In response, Saul summoned his foot soldiers and put the Amalekites to the sword near the easter border of Egypt. Everything that was despised and weak they destroyed. But Saul spared everything that was good, (Agag, King of the Amalekites, and the best sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs) disobeying the command to totally destroy.
Saul rationalized and justified his actions, saying he was going to sacrifice the spared animals in honor and worship to God. He justified his actions so much that he was brimming with confidence when he saw Samuel coming to meet him. This changed quickly when Samuel confronted him, sharing what the Lord told him.
The word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments”’ (verses 10-11).
“For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel (verse 26). The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you” (verse 28).
Saul confessed that he fell prey to the fear of man and let them persuade him with worldly wisdom. It must have sounded so good. Keep this good livestock for God. The sacrifices will please Him! But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. God only cared about complete obedience. As we learn from Saul and examine our own lives, we must ask ourselves: Who are the people in our business sphere we are afraid to disappoint? Who has the influence to persuade us? Maybe it’s our employees, investors or business partners.
As we become more aware of the influence of others in our lives, we must also consider our own broken hearts. What things are we currently justifying or rationalizing? Are lines getting blurred, details fudged, white lies slipping through, things conveniently being omitted? We tell ourselves, “The extra income will bless my family and business. I’ll give some of that money – no, even most of the money – to missions or to a family in need. I’ll use it for God.” And we let the justifications roll.
Saul is not alone. We can all struggle to obey God’s commands completely in business. May God give us all wisdom to discern the voices in our lives that carry more weight than they should, sometimes even our own. In John chapter 10, Jesus says that His sheep know His voice and follow Him. In contrast, sheep will not follow a stranger, in fact, they will run away from that voice because they do not recognize it. May we listen to His voice and take stock in what He says, being willing to fully and completely follow his commands. May we surround ourselves with modern day Samuels, our godly brothers and sisters, that will encourage us and speak truth into our business practices.