“Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God”- 1 Samuel 15:30 (KJV).
A life driven by ego and pride does not recognize God’s glory. Many people are more concerned about their personal reputation than they are of God’s glory. This often robs them of genuine repentance that can attract God’s forgiveness. Pride and ego will often deny them of true brokenness and meekness that God demands.
“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” – Psalm 34:18 (KJV). “The sacrifice of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou will not despise”- Psalm 51:17 (KJV). A contrite heart admits wrong doings and shows remorse for sins but one that lacks brokenness and contrite heart will usually give reasons to justify wrong actions or disobedience in order to protect his ego since personal reputation matters more to him than God’s glory.
Confronted with his sins, King Saul tried to protect his ego. He felt his reputation as a king was at stake. He was more interested in how people will see him than how God sees him. He didn’t mind that God’s glory was at stake. To him, the greatest stake was his personal reputation. He pleaded with Prophet Samuel to pretend that everything was okay. To simply sweep his disobedience and God’s feeling under the carpet and honour him before the elders. He urged Samuel to go ahead with the sacrifice and worship as though nothing happened. He was not mindful of honouring God before the people nor was he concerned about God’s feeling.
Even though Saul admitted that he had sinned, there was no remorse at all for his sins. He only admitted because the bleating of the sheep exposed his disobedience. He even tried to pass the bulk to the people rather than admit his fault.
As Christians, God’s glory should matter to us more than our personal reputation. This is what develops character. We should be sensitive to the Holy Spirit so we do not grieve him. We should prepare to swallow our pride and humble ourselves before the Lord so he can lift us up. Ego driven life cannot please God.
PRAYER: Oh God, deal with my ego and bring me to the place of true meekness and humility in Jesus name.
Rev. Vincent Diolu