Rejecting God for Worldly Desires Never Ends Well
- meetgodattheedgeof
- May 15
- 3 min read
1 Samuel 10:18-19
[18] And he said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has declared: I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were oppressing you. [19] But though I have rescued you from your misery and distress, you have rejected your God today and have said, ‘No, we want a king instead!’ Now, therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by tribes and clans.”
Reading 1 Samuel today, the Lord pointed out something really interesting to me. In these verses, the Lord is pretty disappointed with Israel. Up until now, He had been judging them through judges He appointed, essentially acting as their King. Israel wanted to be like the other nations and requested to have a human king rule over them instead. The grass looked greener in the other nations.
From our perspective now, it's pretty funny, but to them, in their blind, desire-controlled state, it seemed like it was going to be better.
In response, the Lord gave them what they wanted. Even after Samuel warned them of all the sacrifices they would have to make and what they would need to give up, they were adamant.
We read this now and think, what a bunch of dummies. Reject God and request a man that is easily corruptible? So stupid.
But can you think of anything in our lives that's similar?
One of the number one reasons Christians and non-Christians reject God or reject something God has commanded us to do is moral resistance. The life we are called to live clashes with our lifestyle of self-gratification. This is the same as putting ourselves above God. Self-exaltation. That's a scary place to be because, as we've seen throughout Scripture, rejecting God for worldly desires never ends well.
Going to church does not make up for the fact that He is rejected at work.
Going to church does not make up for rejecting Him when no one is looking.
Going to church, getting dressed up, and acting like we have it all together must be so disappointing for our Father sometimes.
Israel got what they wanted, and we often get what we want too. That's both the good and painful part of the gift of free will from God. We are free to choose, but we are not free from the consequences of our choices. God allows us to make those choices, but not without warnings, conviction from the Holy Spirit, and His Word giving us passages like this in 1 Samuel.
Rejecting God for worldly desires may feel satisfying in the moment, but the consequences can be devastating. Loss of a marriage, problems at work, job loss, broken relationships, or worse. Following our convictions and the lifestyle God called us to is not easy — we can all agree on that. But the alternative is meaninglessness.
Our selfish desires lead to destruction and replace time that should be spent with our Heavenly Father. When our fleshly desires creep up, focusing on cultivating a closer relationship with Him will transform us from the inside out. God's Word, prayer, and community are part of His design to help keep us on track and resist the pull of the world.
Stay faithful and reach out if you need help.
Thank you, Father, for one more day. Amen.
Psalms 119:37-40
[37] Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. [38] Reassure me of your promise, made to those who fear you. [39] Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good. [40] I long to obey your commandments! Renew my life with your goodness.
