See No Evil, Think No Evil

In a popular story in the Bible, we learn much about what leads us to do foolish things. The story I am referring to is in 1 Samuel chapter 13. Saul and his son Jonathan are leading the Israelite army against the Philistines. They see that the Philistines' army is greater than theirs and go and hide. See, they are waiting for Samuel to arrive to offer a sacrifice to God so that they will have victory over their enemy.  Samuel had told Saul, when he was anointed as king, back in chapter 10, to wait seven days once he arrived at Gilgal, and Samuel would make a sacrifice to the Lord. But after seven days, Samuel was not there yet, and Saul made the sacrifice instead, which was wrong. He did not listen to what God had commanded him through Samuel.

It is in this story that I want to highlight something to show what leads us to being foolish. When Samuel did come to Saul eventually, Samuel asked him what happened? And this is what Saul said, “Samuel said, 'What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” (1 Samuel 13:11–12 ) And there it is. Saul did two things that ultimately led to our downfall: he moved based on what he saw and what he thought. Yet, what he was looking at and what he was surmising led him to sin. We tend to do the same thing. Too often, we base our decisions on what we observe and what we think, instead of what God has said. And this can lead to trouble. This happened with the first sin, did it not? Genesis tells us that Eve saw that the fruit looked really good and she thought to herself how nice it would be to be wise from eating it, so…she did!

What Samuel then told Saul encapsulates it perfectly: “You have done foolishly.” And why? “You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you.” Simply put, he didn’t obey. Instead of just listening to God, Saul made his decision by trusting in what he was monitoring and by what he was reasoning from what he observed. This is what leads us to trouble. When we sin, what we are doing (most often without realizing it) is we are trusting (i.e., placing our faith in) what we see and think, not in what God has said. And whenever we do that, we are being foolish just like Saul.

The same is true for the Apostles when they were in the boat with Jesus. Jesus fell asleep, and then a large storm came, and so they all freaked out. They feared for their life! And why wouldn't they? Based on what they saw and what they thought, who wouldn’t draw that conclusion? They saw the storm. They saw the boat and how it was maneuvering and floundering. They saw the water getting inside the boat. And then they thought to themselves about what this added up to…drowning! Death! Sinking! Mind you, some of them were very experienced sailors and knew what they were talking about. It wasn’t like this was their first time in a boat or out on water. And what did Jesus tell them? You have so little faith! And why? Because they trusted in what they observed and what they concluded. Instead of trusting in the one who made the sea that was causing all this havoc.

Now, to be clear, I am not saying we should be like robots and not look at anything or think for ourselves. If I observe my son’s diaper sagging to the ground and I think to myself, it is full and I should change it, then I should change it!  What I am talking about is when we think for ourselves on something God’s word has clearly spoken on what to do. For example, when a man sees a beautiful woman and thinks that a lustful thought is no big deal. That it is only in his head and no one knows, and so it doesn’t do any harm, he is foolish. He has sinned because he placed his faith in what he saw and thought, and not in what God has said about lust. When a woman at work notices how mad her boss is about something and she thinks to herself that it would probably help the situation and the anxiety that she is feeling, to just not tell the whole truth about what happened to calm her boss down, she is foolish. She has placed her faith and trust in what she saw and what she thought, not in what God has said about lying. If you spot someone pulling into church with a brand new Mercedes and think to yourself, “Must be nice to have money. While I'm over here struggling to pay the bills and driving a car old enough for the Smithsonian, you are a fool. Because you reacted based on what you saw and what you thought. What if they were given that car as a gift? What if it were a rental car? What if it were someone else’s car and they were just borrowing it because theirs was in the shop? And even if it is their own car that they bought with their own money, you are still being foolish! Because instead of being happy for them with how God has blessed them, you instead chose to disobey God by being jealous, discontent, and coveting!

My friends, let us be careful to trust our instincts. We too often feel confident in what we observe and what we think. We can convince ourselves how right it all is. It may all logically add up correctly in our minds. Yet it will still lead to sin if it goes against anything God has commanded us to do. Don’t place your faith in yourself like Saul did. That is foolishness. Trust in the Lord instead. No matter how illogical it may seem at the moment.