IMAGE OR INTEGRITY?

1 Chronicles 10:4 “Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through or these uncircumcised fellows will come and abuse me. But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.”

In the latter days in the life of Samuel the prophet, his sons were appointed to leadership. While Samuel waned in strength, his sons walked in sin. So all the elders of the people of Israel gathered and said to Samuel, “You are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us such as all the nations have” (1 Samuel 8:4)

From the very beginning of their search it was apparent that the children of Israel were concerned about their appearance. They were different than the other nations. The Israelites were disgruntled, disappointed, and disillusioned.

They did not like their image. When foreign traders would come to the marketplace in Jerusalem, they would ask the merchants selling their wares, “Where is your King? Who is your leader? What does he look like?” The Israelites were sick of saying, “Our king is no-other than the One True God.” “Where is he?” “He’s invisible.” “Where is his statue?" “We are forbidden from making an image of Him.”

Tired of the relentless queries, the Israelites wanted to change their image. They wanted someone they could brag about. They wanted a face they could imprint upon their currency. They wanted statues to be carved in his image. And God gave them someone who would fit their profile. The people wanted a particular image to be fulfilled, and God granted them their wish.

The people were fascinated by the physical image of Saul. They didn’t seem to be concerned at all about what was on the inside of Saul. Everything may have been together on the outside, but there was something wrong on the inside.

Sometime later in Saul’s reign, Samuel had instructed Saul to go to Gilgal where Samuel the prophet would offer sacrifices confirming Saul as King of Israel. But after seven days of waiting, Saul became impatient because the people were scattering. The man, who was chosen because of his image, now is overly-concerned with his image, and therefore he presided over the sacrifice though he was clearly commanded not to.

Later, Saul disobeyed a direct command of God to completely and totally annihilate the Amalekites. Saul disobeyed God, and the scriptures show us that God rejected Saul as King. From the very start of Saul’s reign, God makes it evidently clear that integrity matters more than image. Saul failed to keep the commands of God and his actions clearly demonstrated the inward condition of his heart. And from that moment, God began the establishment of a new kingdom. And so, God commissioned Samuel to go and anoint a new king, which would one day rule where Saul was seated.

There is little doubt that we live in a society that loves hype. Image is truly everything in the world. Everyone wants their own flag to wave. Many want to be seen as great even if their private conduct is anything but. We must remember that God has called us to represent him with excellence and integrity. Remember, when your image matters more than your integrity, you will be tempted to settle for hypocrisy. Be on guard so that you will choose that which matters most over that which looks the best.