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 There
was a time when king Saul was useful to God's purposes. At that
time he was anointed king of Israel; at a time, as Samuel tells
him, "When thou vast little in thine own sight" (1
Sam. 15:17). The sense of littleness that helped qualify Saul
for his crown is no less essential for those who seek a better
crown (2 Tim. 4:8).
In
fact, nothing is more needful in the quest for godliness
(acquiring a right attitude toward God). Man's view of self
determines his view of God, and vice versa. When Saul was little
in his own sight, God was big. When Saul came to be big in his
own sight, God became smaller. That is, God and God's will
became of less importance to him. Nebuchadnezzar had the same
problem. After being made to live as a beast of the field and to
eat grass as the oxen for a time, his sense of littleness and
understanding returned. When humbled, he could see God's
bigness; that "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men,
and giveth it to whomsoever He will" (Dan. 4:32). Then,
he blessed and praised and honored "Him that liveth
forever" (v. 34) — as do all "little" men.
Only
the man with a sense of littleness acknowledges his inability to
direct his own steps (Jer. 10:23) and willingly submits to God's
leading. Others, like king Saul, presumptuously set aside God's
will when it conflicts with their own — not in all things,
mind you, nor even in most. Many are willing to do much of what
God says, but, as with Saul, we learn that partial obedience is
not submission at all. In fact, God calls it
"rebellion" (1 Sam. 15:23). Sound harsh?
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It
shouldn't. Not when you realize that man arrays himself against
God in every act of deliberate disobedience and says, in effect,
"NO, I will not submit!" Perhaps this is what prompted
someone to observe that the first lesson to be learned in serving
God is humility. Whenever men conclude (by any process of reasoning
or rationalizing) that their ways are as good as God's, they
prove themselves too big to work in God's harness.
But,
not only does man change his attitude toward God in losing his
sense of littleness, he also changes his attitude toward men. As
men acquire those things that make them "somewhat"
(whether thrones, money, position, success or education), they
are apt to see their peers as somewhat less. The kind of pride
that kept Saul from appreciating David is still a threat to the
unity of God's people — and not only in others, for all
can forget their littleness at times (like the man who became
proud of his humility). God's way is "doing nothing through
faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind
each counting other better than himself; not looking each of you
to his own things, but each of you also to the things of
others" (Phil. 2: 3,4). When every brother looks up to all
other brethren and looks down on none, we are growing in the
kind of littleness that makes us strong (2 Cor. 12: 10). May God
help us to cultivate this sense of littleness; the kind that
truly appreciates God and brethren; the kind that confesses
weakness and wrongdoing and says, "God, be thou
merciful...". Dan S. Shipley
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