Desires In Conflict: The Danger Of Self-Indulgence Vs. Faith

Shared on February 19, 2025

Introduction

You cannot live with one foot stepping toward God and the other stepping away from God.  Does that opening statement make sense to you?  Let me explain myself.

There are many “Christians” living in spiritual conflict today.  Many “Christians” say that they are living for God, but their thoughts, words, and actions say otherwise.   There are two basic fundamentals that we as Christians are supposed to live by:  loving the Lord and loving our neighbor (Matt. 22:36-40). 

Sadly, many of us are watching today as many so-called Christians fail these principles.  Many are living in devotion to themselves, or to man, rather than living in devotion to God.  The Christian is not supposed to be living in devotion to man, woman, boy, girl, dignitary, president, emperor, queen, king, nor to themselves! We are supposed to be devoted to God and to one another.

There is a cautionary story we find in scripture where the children of Israel made a selfish choice that many supposed believers are still making today.  So, over the next few weeks, I want to share a study series about King Saul and the error of the children of Israel.  I share this series of studies with you in the hope that can prevent any further sliding into this grave sin.  

In this week’s study, we’re going to primarily focus on 1 Samuel 8:4-6, 10-22.  We will cover the moment when the elders of Israel went to Samuel and expressed a very dangerous desire to him.

History of Leadership in Israel

Before we take a look at their desire, we must first spend some time looking at Israel’s history of leadership as leadership plays a major role in our scripture of study.

So, let’s start at the very beginning. Though many of us recognize Israel as a nation today, Israel was a man who was first named Jacob (Gen. 32:27-28).  Jacob had a twin brother, named Esau, with him being the youngest of the two. Jacob’s parents were Isaac and Rebekah, with Isaac’s dad (Jacob’s grandfather) being Abraham (Gen. 25:19-26).

Eventually, Jacob left his father’s house and set out on his own. Jacob married two different women, Leah and Rachel, and had thirteen children by them and two other women (Gen. 29:31-30:24).  In total, Israel (Jacob) had twelve sons and one daughter and he was the leader of his house.

Now, one of his sons, Joseph, was sold into bondage by his brothers.  While a slave in Egypt, Joseph rose to become second in command next to the Pharaoh of that time.  Due to a severe drought over the land, Israel moved his family to Goshen (northern part of Egypt) to dwell with Joseph (Gen. 45:9-11). At that point, Joseph had become a leader of Israel as Joseph tended to and watched over his people.

After the days of Joseph, the children of Israel became slaves in Egypt (Ex. 1:8-11).  After hundreds of years in bondage, God sent Moses to lead Israel from the bondage of Egypt.  After Moses’ death, Joshua became the leader of the next generation of Israel as he led them into the Promised Land.  

So, we can say that Israel, Joseph, Moses, and Joshua were the first “leaders” of Israel.  None of these men were viewed as kings nor had the desire to be a king. These men were men of God who served the Lord by serving their people.

Now, there were always elders and leaders within the twelve tribes that helped with leadership but the elders were not viewed as the leader.  After Joshua’s death, God periodically raised up judges like Deborah, Gideon, and Samson to lead against Israel’s oppressors. The judges of Israel weren’t necessarily viewed at the same level of leadership as a Moses or Joshua as the judges did lead all of Israel. 

Dangerous Desire of the Children of Israel  

Now, with that history, we can move ahead to the days of Samuel and dive into the scripture of our study.

Samuel was also a judge, he was the last of the judges of Israel. Samuel was also a prophet of God and he served all of Israel as both a judge and spiritual leader. In his old age, Samuel wanted his two sons to “take on the job” of being spiritual leaders but they weren’t fit for the “job” nor were they ordained by God.  The elders used Samuel’s age and the wickedness of his sons to express their desire for new leadership.  

Now, desiring to have new leadership wasn’t nor isn’t a problem.  As we know, there comes a time when one must sit and rest while another takes the lead.  I believe one of the issues affecting the local church today is that some of us don’t know when it’s time for us to pass the baton in the relay race of faith.  

For the elders of Israel, their desire for new leadership was leading them in a direction to fall into the same error as those who had come before them.  For example, in the story of Korah’s rebellion (Num. 16:1-40), Korah believed that he and his friends would be better leaders than Moses and Aaron.  The problem with that thought was that Moses and Aaron was led by God.

When given the opportunity to turn from rebelling against God’s leadership, Korah and his friends refused. Korah and his friends that rebelled ended up being swallowed up by the earth as the ground gave way beneath them. Their pride and selfish desire ended up being their end. As Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” I want you to keep this thought in mind as we go through this study and throughout this series of studies.

Failure to recognize God

So, what was the elder’s desire?

The elders desired to have a king appointed over them so that they could be like all the other nations (1 Sam. 8:4).  Now, some of us may wonder, what’s so bad about that desire?  To answer that question, we will take a look at what God’s response was to Samuel about the desires of the elders.

In 1 Samuel 8:7, God told Samuel that they had rejected Him reigning over them. Like Korah, these elders failed to realize that it wasn’t Samuel leading them, it was God. You see, God led Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and now Samuel, because those men followed His instructions. So, just like Korah, they were rebelling against God’s leadership.

Let’s make a note of God saying, “They have forsaken Me and served other gods (1 Sam. 8:8).”  What does it mean to forsake?  To forsake:  to renounce or to turn away from entirely.  The word “forsake” is synonymous with words like abandon, desert, leave, or quit.  God had tied what these elders were doing back to the wicked generation that came out of Egypt and worshiped a calf of gold and Baal. Keep in mind, that was a generation that was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.

God, you should understand, desires for one to be faithful to Him.  To be faithful is to be loyal and to be devoted.  While God desires such devotion, He’s not going to force one to be devoted to Him.

Think about this:  When God desired to enter into the covenant with the children of Israel, He gave them a choice, right (Ex. 19:1-8)?  God could have forced the covenant on the children of Israel but that’ wouldn’t have been a covenant’s not what a covenant is.  You see, a covenant is a mutual agreement between two or more parties.  At Mount Sinai, the children of Israel chose to enter into their agreement with God.  

The expectation in that agreement was that every generation would be faithful to God. Generation after generation would break the covenant with their ways of wickedness. The elders of Samuel’s day was simply following a long of trend of unfaithfulness. 

Let’s also not overlook the fact that they wanted to be like the other nations. The desire to be like all the other nations was also sinful as the desire was born of envy and jealousy.  Think about this: we become envious when we aren’t happy with what we have or believe that others have better. So, the elders expressed a desire that implied they weren’t happy with God’s leadership nor what God had given to them!

 What had God given to them? Yes, He had given to them the Promised Land. However, if you think deeply about this, the given of the Promised Land came when they were freed from bondage. So, God had given to them freedom from Pharaoh, a king. Now, the elders were expressing the desire to go right back to living under a king!

On every level that we dig into their desire, we see how awful their desire was. The elders expressed an desire that undervalued what God had given to them. Even worse, the elders expressed a desire that showed theyw ere ungrateful for all that God had done for them. The worst thing we can do is undervalue God’s blessing and not be grateful for His wonderful works.  

When we’re not grateful for all God has done for us, it will start us down a slippery slope whose end is sin.  One who does not consider God they won’t ever look to Him. When one doesn’t look to God they won’t pray to Him nor depend on Him. 

Who does one look to or depend on when not God? They will either depeond on themselves, someone else, or something else. Are any of those choices better than depending on God? Some people truly believe so but that is the way of the fool. There is no choice that is better than depending on God. 

So, we have to be very careful when it comes to what we desire.  We should always ask ourselves whether or not our desires are healthy or unhealthy for the soul.  We should always ask ourselves whether or not our desires fall in line with God’s desires. If your desires don’t fall in line with God’s desires, then there is a major problem that needs resolving.

God’s Response to Our Wicked Desires

We will see that God told Samuel to heed the voice of the people (1 Sam. 8:7,9).  To heed means to give consideration or attention to; to mind.  Now, just because God tells Samuel to heed their voice, we shouldn’t think that God was OK with their desire.  We’ve just heavily discussed how God had spoken to Samuel about the people forsaking Him.  God was not pleased.

A response of love and faithfulness

So, why did God tell Samuel to heed the voice of the people rather than let Samuel continue to be angry at their desire?

The first answer to that question points to the freedom of choice that God has given mankind.  God, we must remember, is faithful and will always be faithful to Himself and mankind.  This means that He is going to be faithful to that freedom He has given us, even when our desires and choices are foolish.  

Let’s be very clear about this: God does not force obedience on us.  Obedience is a choice! Like the children of Israel, God has not forced His covenant through Jesus’ shed blood on anybody.  As Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Whoever believes in [Me] will have everlasting life (John 3:16)” – believing in Christ is a choice.  

I know it will pain a lot of Christians to hear this but you cannot force faith and obedience on anybody.  God doesn’t want you to be dictating and forcing your beliefs on anybody!  Jesus preached and encouraged faith.  However, when those turned away from Him, He let them turn and go (John 6:60-66).  The reason why Jesus let them go is because He respected their choice.

God warns when we’re off course

Now, the second answer as to why God told Samuel to heed the voice of the people, points to what God does when our desires are foolish.  Though God has given us the freedom to choose how we will live, let’s not think God won’t warn us about our foolish desires. God desired for Samuel to solemnly forewarn the people, to give them wise counsel about their desire (1 Sam. 8:9).  Solemn:  a serious and subdued attitude; done or made with the utmost sincerity.

In his letter, James wrote, “For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God (Jas. 1:20).”  If you think about this for a moment, how many of us respond well to someone rebuking (correcting) us out of anger?  If someone comes to you swearing and cussing, you’re likely not going to respond well, are you?  So, Samuel would need to forewarn the people in a manner that wouldn’t immediately turn them away.

I’ve found that God will warn us in multiple ways when our desires or actions are foolish. God will warn us through the Spirit.  Let’s remember the role that the Holy Spirit serves on our journey.  When He taught the disciples about the Holy Spirit’s role, Jesus shared that the Holy Spirit is our Helper (or Comforter) (John 14:16).  As the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Jesus taught, “will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit will hold His hands up to stop us from being foolish.  

Now, there are times when some of us are deaf or blind to what the Spirit is telling us.  In those times, God will get His warning to you through people like Samuel.  God will send help your way through your family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. God will also send help your way through your brothers and sisters in Christ as well.  

In this case, God was using Samuel just as He uses us today.  God instructed Samuel to show them the behavior of the king who would reign over them, to warn them of what they would be getting themselves into.  The most concerning part was Samuel’s warning, “You will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day (1 Sam. 8:18).” 

A Sinful Decision

I would recommend you read from 1 Samuel 8:10-17 so that you can see every detail of God’s warning to the people.  Now, every warning you’ve ever received comes with a choice, right? You can either choose to heed a warning or disregard the warning and push ahead.

The difference between the wise and the foolish is shown throughout Proverbs. Proverbs 1:7 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Those who are wise will seek to know what pleases God and live in that manner, fearing His judgment. However, the same proverb points out that the fool despises wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:5 tells us that one who is wise will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. The hope that God has in us is that when we hear wisdom and instruction, we will be attentive to it and live by it. God warning you is something you should be attentive to! You should not ignore God’s warning and push ahead as that would be the action of a fool.

Those who choose to push past God’s warning, are choosing their way over God’s way.  If I had to equate this to anything, I’d have to equate it to receiving storm warnings.  When meteorologist warns about potentially bad weather, we are left with the choice of heeding their warnings or disregarding it. 

In Atlanta, severe thunderstorm warnings are so common that we know how to handle them. However, this winter (Winter of 2024-25) has been one with lots of frigid weather and it even snowed.  This was the very rare winter where it snowed twice in Atlanta, when typically, we go years without.  When it comes to the meteorologist’s warning of wintry weather, most folks here don’t take them seriously.  This is how so many people end up getting stuck out on roads in the snow.

Let’s understand what it implies when we ignore warnings from meteorologists.  Of meteorologists’ warnings, a lot of us will say, “They don’t know what they’re talking about”.  The implication is that we, somehow, know better than them!  Think about that:  we know better than those who have studied and have experience in their field of work.  Whether you realize it or not, this is a foolish mindset to have as it despises their wise counsel.

Now, if we take that same reasoning and apply it to God’s warning, we can see the danger and the foolishness of ignoring His warnings.  Even more, when you choose to push past God’s held-up hands, you’re choosing your way over His way.  Let’s understand that such a choice is a lack of faith.  Not only is this a lack of faith but it’s also selfish.  Selfish disobedience is sinful.

Consequences of Selfish Disobedience

When you choose to push past God’s warning in selfish disobedience, don’t think that your choice won’t come without consequences.  Some of us are blinded by our desires and that blindness will see us fall into the consequences of our foolish choice.  As Samuel warned, God will let you fall into the consequences of your choices and actions should you not heed His warnings.

When you choose your way over God’s way, let’s be clear that you’re choosing your own blessing over God’s blessing.  Choosing your blessing over God’s is telling Him that His blessing isn’t good enough for you!  Again, I want you to consider how foolish this all sounds.

Many believers will do as the elder of Israel; we will look to the wicked and envy them.  We will say of the wicked that they seem happy and prosperous with what they have.  Many of us will even look to what they did to be successful and try to imitate them! Should the child of God ever imitate those who are wicked?

We must understand that the ‘blessing’ of the wicked is not of God.  The blessing of the wicked is of the world. The blessing of God is of His kingdom and God’s blessing should never be confused with the fruit of the world.  God’s blessing is a far better reward than the fruit that is of the world!

In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul wrote, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”  Let me ask, do you see anything in Paul’s statement about silver and gold? No.

God’s blessing is the blessing of contentment – peace of mind and heart.  However, many of us don’t see the blessing of peace of mind as a blessing.  No, we much rather be able to open our bank accounts on our phone to see our “blessing”.  Yet, what you have in the bank account will do you no good in inheriting God’s kingdom.

So, one has to prioritize which matters most to them – the fruit of the world or the fruit of God’s kingdom.  Solomon said that the fruit of the world is vanity (meaningless) and that one should fear God (Eccl. 1:2; 12:8-14).  The choice should be easy when it comes to faith and self-indulgence, but we, mankind as a whole, continue to fail.

After Samuel’s warning, the people made their choice. The people said to him, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations (1 Sam. 8:19).”  After sharing their words with the Lord, God again said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king (1 Sam. 8:22). With God telling Samuel to heed their choice, just know that God was letting them have their choice.

God permits us to have our choice, even when they are foolish.  However, something that we come to know and understand is that every choice comes with their consequences. Understand, when you have made your foolish choice, God will permit those consequences to come.  If you’re going to ignore God’s warnings, you have to be ready to face the consequences.

This thought should remind us of Adam and Eve in the garden, who had it made but then was kicked out because of their disobedience. I even think about David who lost a newborn baby because of his sin. At some point, in all of the choices that’s being made today, one will come face to face with the consequences of their choice.

So, on that note, we’re going to end our study right here as we will get into the selecting of Saul as king in our next study. I hope that you will continue to follow along in this series of study. Be sure to share this study if you are able.