Playing the Fool

There are some interesting things written on tombstones that often will sum up a person’s life. For example, the tombstone of Harry Edsel Smith, who lived from 1913 to 1942, contains these words: “He looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on its way down. It was.”

If you were to come up with a phrase that summarized your life, what would you want it to say? Would it be different than what it ought to say?

Saul, the first king of Israel, inadvertently summed up his life in this way: “Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly” (1 Samuel 26:21). Those words would have been a fitting epitaph for his tombstone.

When you first read about him in the pages of Scripture, it would appear that Saul was destined to become another hero of the Bible. But early in his career as the king of Israel, Saul started to rebel against God.

One day, the Philistines mounted an attack against Israel. The Philistine armies were huge, and the Israelites were paralyzed with fear. Saul was trying to rally the troops to go into battle, but the Lord told Saul to wait until the prophet Samuel showed up. He would present a burnt offering to the Lord, and then Saul would be told what to do.

Meanwhile, the Philistines were waiting. Saul was growing impatient. He thought, Why do I have to wait for some prophet? I know how to offer a burnt offering. I will do it myself. Surely, God will make an exception under the circumstances. Saul directly disobeyed the Lord and offered the sacrifice. When Samuel arrived, he asked Saul, “What is this you have done?”

Saul responded, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt obliged to offer the burnt offering myself before you came” (1 Samuel 13:11–12 NLT).

Samuel told Saul that because he disobeyed the Lord’s command, his dynasty would come to an end. In fact, he said that God had already chosen Saul’s replacement.

At first glance, this may seem a bit extreme on God’s part. But we need to remember that God looks at the heart, while we look at actions. He could see that Saul’s heart had already turned away.

Tragically for Saul, he went from bad to worse. It wasn’t long until David, his successor, emerged on the scene. Filled with paranoia and jealousy, Saul began to relentlessly hunt him down and tried to murder him on more than one occasion.

Ultimately, Saul died a pathetic death on the battlefield. His life held so much promise, potential, and talent, yet it ended so tragically. Saul played the fool and threw his life away.

How can we avoid making the same mistake with our lives? Here are a few principles from Saul’s story to keep in mind.

We play the fool when we disobey God in even the smallest matters. Saul’s failure was not immediate, reminding us that spiritual decline is gradual. At first, he was humble, but then pride took hold. Pride turned into envy, and Saul took matters into his own hands. He ignored what God told him to do. We are to obey God in even the smallest matters, because “small sins” turned into big sins for Saul.

We play the fool when we attempt to justify the wrong we have done. More than once, Saul blamed others for his actions. When Samuel confronted him, he blamed the people. He wouldn’t own up to his own sin. In Saul’s mind, what people thought was more important than what God thought.

We play the fool when we allow hatred to control our lives instead of love. Saul’s jealousy ultimately destroyed him. He was jealous when God placed His hand on David and began to use him. Saul could have been a great leader, but pride and jealousy got in the way.

God has given each of us potential. God has given each of us certain talents and abilities. God will not ask us to do anything in this life that He will not give us the strength to do.

Don’t be disqualified in the race of life like Saul was. Don’t play the fool.