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Have you been to an all-you-can-eat
buffet lately? I usually get a hankering
to go to one every now and then. The price is usually reasonable for the
variety of food that is available. One indication that I got my money’s worth
is when I walk in normal and walk out wobbling like a walrus. Usually these places are nothing fancy, but I
never go for the fancy but for the food. Ambiance is nice, but it comes with a
price tag, and it normally doesn’t do anything to satisfy my hunger pangs. I
like the idea of when I want something from the buffet I can just get up and serve
myself, browsing around looking for something that catches my attention.
Upon leaving I will tell Beverly, “I’m
miserable! I ate too much,” and out of nowhere comes a big Walrus belch in the
car! You’ve never done that of course? Overindulging is not really a good idea,
and I usually wind up being sluggish afterwards, left to ponder my own question,
“Why did I eat so much?” I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s hard not to
repeat history when I am on a buffet rampage.
You know when it comes to spiritual
things like obeying God’s Word; often people will follow a buffet mentality, being
selective on taking what appeals to the flesh and ignoring the things that
doesn’t. Ever notice that your Bible is never entitled, The Holy Bible Buffet? One of
the signs that we truly love the Lord is that we keep His commandments, all of
them. Jesus never said to His disciples, “If you love Me, keep whatever commandments
you will” (cf. Jn 14:15). But isn’t this is exactly what a lot of us do in our
service to the King of Kings.
We pick and choose what we want to keep
and disregard the rest. For example people will attend church regularly but
live like the devil the rest of the week. And we wonder why we are
disillusioned with Christianity. It’s because none of God’s admonitions, instructions,
exhortations, or commands are optional. It is true that God allows us a choice
to obey or disobey, but the faith choice to obey is to obey all of God’s commands, not in part, but in
whole.
There is a trifling with sin nowadays that is playing havoc with people’s
lives and destroying their testimony for God; it is all because believers are
not wholly following the Lord; they are picking and choosing what commands they
want to keep and not to keep; this is tantamount to a buffet styled religion
which is viewed as rejecting the Word of God by the LORD Himself.
We see this buffet faith in the life
of Saul. Since Saul was anointed to be Israel’s first king, he was warned by
Samuel, “Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD” (1 Sam 15:1). The
verb “heed” connotes to hear and to obey. This was a verb he already had
troubled with and proved to be his undoing – by disobeying the commands of the
LORD (1 Sam 13:12, 13, 14).
With his troops scattering (1Sam 13:6-7a),
his followers scared to death (1 Sam 13:7b), Samuel delaying his arrival (1 Sam
13:8), and the Philistines gathering for battle 1 Sam 13:5), King Saul felt he
had valid excuses (1 Sam 13:11) in defying God’s commands and felt “compelled”
to take it upon himself, as a matter of expediency, to assume a priestly role of
offering a burnt offering (1 Sam 13:12) in clear violation of the Law (1 Sam
13:13).
King Saul’s arrogance and usurpation
of authority made the situation even more volatile, for he was to lead by
example. His actions set a dangerous precedent for a king to give to the nation.
If the king felt justified in disobeying the Lord’s commands based upon the
circumstances, what kind of message does this send to the people he is
shepherding? What kind of message are we sending to our kids as parents or as grandparents? It gives the impression that there are times when expediency
justifies disobeying the commandments of God. What was Samuel’s take on all of
this?
And Samuel said to Saul, "You
have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God,
which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom
over Israel forever” (1 Sam 13:13).
Then Saul hears the words, “But now
your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after
His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His
people, because you have not kept what
the LORD commanded you" (1 Sam 13:14, emphasis mine).
Saul was the kind of man that always
fell short of complete obedience. Now Samuel delivers to Saul some very clear
cut instructions concerning the Amalekites,
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I will
punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way
when he came up from Egypt” (1 Sam 15:2; cf. Deut 25:17-19). Amalekites were a
nomadic tribe in the Sinai peninsula and the Negev who had descended from Esau’s
grandson Amalek (Gen 36:12). They were bitter enemies of the Israelites.
Now here comes the instructions, “Now
go and attack Amalek, and utterly
destroy all that they have, and do
not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox
and sheep, camel and donkey” (1 Sam 15:3, emphasis mine). Everything that had
breath among the Amalekites was to be devoted to destruction, unable to be
redeemed or ransomed; there was to be no negotiations or diplomacy. “Destroy”
(Heb, herem) means to set apart for
destruction or extermination here in this context (cf. Deut 7:2; Jos 11:20).
Well, here is what happened next, “But
Saul and the people spared King Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the
fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But
everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed” (1 Sam 15:9,
emphasis mine). Saul felt pretty good about what he had done and had set up a
monument for himself in Carmel (1 Sam 15:12) before returning to Gilgal. We see
this assessment of himself during the debriefing of the mission with Samuel, “Then
Samuel went to Saul (in Gilgal), and Saul said to him, "Blessed are
you of the LORD! I have performed the
commandment of the LORD" (1 Sam 15:13, emphasis mine).
“But Samuel said, "What then is
this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear”
(1 Sam 15:14)? It was the sounds of disobedience. “And Saul said, "They
have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the
sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have
utterly destroyed" (1 Sam 15:15). Oh, they disobeyed God for spiritual
reasons!
Then Samuel proceeds to tell Saul what
the LORD said to him the night before. He was reminded that the LORD made him
king over Israel which means he was responsible for what happened here. He had
command responsibility to carry out the mission to “Go, and utterly destroy the
sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed” (1 Sam
15:18). Samuel questioned Saul why he did not obey the voice of the LORD. But
Saul was of the opinion that he had carried out the LORD’s orders (1 Sam
15:20)! And does admit that the animals should have been utterly destroyed, but
the people wanted to sacrifice to the LORD in Gilgal (1 Sam 15:21), again, disobedience
for spiritual reasons!
Samuel replies that “to obey is better
than sacrifice” (1 Sam 15:22). Real worship was revealed by behavior not by
sacrifices. Saul was always redefining the Lord’s will in the way he thought
was best rather than what God said was best. Sometimes, we know better than
God, right? His disobedience was on the same level of witchcraft and idolatry, sins
worthy of death (1 Sam 15:23). Saul admitted that he had transgressed the commandment
of the LORD because he feared the people and obeyed their voice (1 Sam 15:24). Saul
was a king who feared the people more than God. Saul’s actions were seen as
rejecting the word of the LORD, and he was rejected by the LORD as king (1 Sam
15:26, 27, 28).
A buffet faith causes people to
disobey the Scripture for spiritual reasons! It’s twisted and contorted logic
that defies explanation. People like this are always attempting to please God
apart from His Word; it never will. Picking and choosing what we want to obey
or ignore in God’s Word is very hazardous to our spiritual health and is nothing
more than a rejection of the Word of the Lord. Obedience is an attitude of all
or nothing. Even good intentions if it violates the Word are sin. A buffet
faith fears others more than God and constantly reinterprets the clear
instructions of the Word of God, redefining God’s will that is more acceptable
in the eyes of the beholder rather than God (Jdg 21:25). Those who have a
buffet faith suffer from a severe love problem (Jn 14:15); you can witness it
in their behavior, not in their sacrifices. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to hit the buffet soon! It works better for food than faith. <><
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