POOR KING SAUL

Blog: Max Dawson
June 15, 2017
In our last look at leadership we did a case study on Joshua. Needless to say, he was a great leader in so many ways. Now we look at another leader who was not so great. “Poor King Saul.” I use the word “poor,” not because he was broke or bankrupt, but because he was a broken and bankrupted leader. Saul is a case study in poor leadership. We need to avoid his mistakes.
Here are fifteen things that characterized his poor leadership:
. IMPATIENT: He failed to wait for Samuel; he disobeyed God.
. IMPULSIVE: He made a foolish oath that jeopardized Jonathan.
. PROUD: Saul would rather kill Jonathan than admit a mistake.
. DISOBEDIENT: The king chose to go against God’s command.
. ARROGANT: Disobedient Saul built a monument for himself.
. DISHONEST: He lied to Samuel, professing he had obeyed God.
. MANIPULATIVE: He blamed others for his own sins.
. REBELLIOUS: Saul rejected the word of the Lord.
. COWARDLY: The king feared the people rather than the Lord.
. DELUSIONAL: He wanted to continue as though all was well.
. FEARFUL: Because he did not fear God, he feared Goliath.
. JEALOUS: Saul had jealous anger over praise given to David.
. MURDEROUS: His anger provoked him to try to kill David.
. VENGEFUL: He killed God’s priests because they helped David.
. FAITHLESS: He resorted to sorcery as he consulted a medium.
THE FINAL WORD
It is true that Saul had a position of leadership. But positional leadership is of little value if a man does not have the character of a leader. Israel literally fell apart under Saul’s leadership. He squandered his opportunities to influence the people of Israel for good and to lead them to greatness.
The things listed in the block above are things we must not allow in our lives. You cannot be effective in influencing others for good if you have these bad qualities. All of these factors in Saul’s life detracted from his ability to be a leader.
says Saul “was taller than any of the people.” He was a tall man, but he got shorter with each of the things above that characterized his leadership.
Blessings to you, my dear friends,
–Max