Faith Compromised

What would you say is the most important thing in your life? The answer should be your faith in God, but that isn’t always what we put first. Even the best Bible characters let their faith slip at some point or another. 

Let's take a look at Saul, Israel's first king. We know what happened there. Saul started out fine. He believed God and led well. He even looked like a king; he was very tall and powerful. So what went wrong? Saul started to love his own power way too much, and he wanted more of it. He thought David was a threat to that power, so it became his goal in life to kill David. Saul let power and greed compromise his faith.

David was the next king after Saul, and he loved God very much. David honored God, and he was also a good and just ruler. David's armies were also very strong in battle because they had God on their side. We think of David as a righteous king, but he wasn't always. Once he saw a beautiful woman named Bethsheba bathing. He wanted her as a wife, so he plotted to have her husband killed in battle. David committed adultery and it hurt his relationship with God. Soloman, David's son, was the next ruler of Israel. God offered to give him anything he wanted, and he chose wisdom. God was pleased with this choice, so He gave Soloman wisdom and money. Solomon’s request proved that he was a selfless ruler, but he, too, sinned. He had many, many different wives and these wives had many, many different gods. Soloman himself began to worship the false gods, and that did not go well. He put idols in God's way. 

These kings did some terrible things to take them away from God, and it really isn’t all that different from when we sin in small ways every day. Faith is the most important thing, but it is easier than we think to mess up. Good thing God is always there, ready to forgive us if we ask.

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