Building Monuments

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

BUILDING MONUMENTS

1 Samuel 15:12-16

12 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." 13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD's instructions." 14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?" 15 Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest." 16 "Stop!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night."

NIV

We will get to what the LORD said to Samuel that night before he found Saul, but there are two nuggets of truth within this first exchange of words between Saul and Samuel. The first is when Saul went to Carmel and set up a monument in his own honor. How arrogant to build a monument in honor of oneself. Did Saul think he was that great of a king that he needed a monument? This takes us directly to how we are not to live. If we are living humbly before our God and people, we certainly should not do anything that would resemble a monument. Of course, we would never build a statue or other form of monument, even a plaque to hang in our honor. However, we wonder if there are times we might get puffed up a bit and want some honor because of all our “Good works”. In that case, our deeds would resemble a monument that we have set up for ourselves. Self-edification can come in several forms other than works. We can become prideful, or boastful about how much education we have, or how well we have done investing in the world’s financial markets. We can desire honor because of the position we hold, first in the world, second in the church. We need to be careful about those monuments in our honor. The second nugget of truth is when Samual simply said, “Stop”. Saul was lying through his teeth, to coin a phrase. He was instructed to destroy everything of the Amalekites, to completely wipe them and all their possessions from the face of the earth. Saul failed, but then began to make some excuses, or simply lies about why he did what he did, then to top that failure off, he built that monument in honor of himself. Now he will be known as one who lies. But Samel wanted no more of those lies, so he told Saul, “Stop, let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night”. This should give us several clues for life. First, we must ask ourselves if we have lied to make ourselves look good, or give an excuse for our behavior? Second, it is appropriate at times to tell someone, “Stop”, as when we hear them begin to gossip, criticize someone, or voice some condemnation or judgment about someone’s behavior, actions, or words. It might be appropriate to tell a fellow believer, “Stop” when they begin to boast about themselves or endeavor to build a monument in their honor. Of course, we should also make sure the log is not in our eyes, as we try to look for that speck. Still, Samuel shows us it is right to say, “Stop” when needed. Let us live with no excuses or build any monuments.