Today I read 1 Samuel 13 where Saul and the Israelites go to war. Saul asked Samuel to come and perform a sacrifice to the Lord to bless them so that they will be victorious. However, when Samuel doesn't show up on time, Saul takes matters into his own hands and has his men perform the sacrifices themselves. As always seems to be the case, Samuel showed up right as they were finishing the sacrifice.
Yesterday I drove down to Florida with my family along with my father and mother. At one point my dad and I were talking about a Sunday School discussion that took place recently. He said that some people in the class felt it was ok when someone did the right thing for the wrong reasons. He said that he had raised his hands and corrected them but most of the class still stated that they felt it was a good thing for the person to do the right thing no matter what the reason. This chapter is a great example of doing the right or good thing for the wrong reasons or in the wrong way.
Saul knew that to make a sacrifice to the Lord was a good and right thing to do. However, he did not have the Priesthood, the authority, necessary to perform this ordinance. Only Samuel did, that we know of. Yet, he performed it anyway. He did a righteous act in the wrong way. And because of it, he was punished and eventually his kingdom was taken away from him. The important thing to remember is that God looks on our motive just as much as the action. Sometimes I think that perhaps God looks on the intent MORE than He does the action itself. We need to make sure that we are doing the right things, for the right reasons, in the right place at the right time. Until tomorrow.
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