THE BLEATING OF SHEEP: SELF-CONCEIT

“Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” ~ I Samuel 15:30

REFERENCE:

I Samuel 15:17-30

Sadly, so much went wrong with Saul in this one event of his life. His failure on the mission to destroy Amalek brought out all of Saul’s character flaws concealed by the trappings of his office as a king. After much rationalizing, Saul finally admitted that he was wrong, only that he needed to save his face before his subjects. The bleating of the sheep reveals another of Saul’s weaknesses – self-conceit. Saul was a self-consumed proud man.

A self-conceited person believes that the world revolves around him; he is more particular about his image than the substance of his character. He is arrogant, does not see others as his equals, and finds it hard to accept his wrongs. He inflates his personal qualities – intellect, charm, or skills; hence, he finds it hard to get that he is wrong. A self-conceited man is judgmental.

Saul struggled with accepting that he was wrong by not doing what God commanded. While he built a monument for himself, he blamed the people and implicated Samuel. He said, “…for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God” (vs.15). Also, “…I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep, and oxen, the best of the things…to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” (vs.20-21)—pride in action.

Samuel quickly pointed out Saul’s pride, “When you were little in your own eyes…did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?” but Saul was too self-conceited to see it. When he eventually did and should be repentant before God, he begged Samuel to honor him before the people by standing beside him during the worship service. Saul should have torn his clothes in repentance and fallen before God, but he still wanted to be seen as a God-approved war hero.

Have you reached a point where you see more faults in others than in yourself? Are you more concerned about how you are seen than how you are? Is pleasing men more important to you than pleasing God? Do you constantly hear yourself say, “You are now a big boy/girl, don’t mind them?” Have you put yourself in a place where no one can correct you? If all these are true, then the sheep are bleating all around you, screaming, “Self-conceit!” “Pride!” “Arrogance!”

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