This is a very sad story of a fallen king who allowed jelousy to corrupt his heart and who invited the forces of evil to torment his soul. Having already lost God's favour through disobedience, Saul, the first king of Israel, continued on the down hill slide to self-destruction. Saul, who was born great and was above all Israel in stature and goodness ended up a bitter man not worthy of his kingdom and feared by all, even his family.
David having found favour with the king of Israel by slaying Goliath, was taken away from his family and installed into the king's household. So impeccable was his behaviour that he was beloved by all Judah and Israel (1 Sam 18:16). And so obedient was he to any task that he was given by the king that Saul placed him in charge of his army (1 Sam 18:5). It naturally followed that David had great success in his battles with the Philistines and Saul was soon overshadowed by his popularity (1 Sam 18:6,7). Saul perceived this popularity as a threat to himself and his kingdom. In his mind, praise for another somehow diminished him in the eyes of the people. Saul, who had everything, who was the king of Israel, chosen by God, under whose command armies moved, who had all power and influence in the land, wanted more. From the moment Saul heard the women chanting "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands" (1 Sam 18:7), he hated David and became exceedingly jelous of him (1 Sam 18:8,9).
Saul's good qualities and his ability to rule with wisdom were totally subverted as he allowed jelousy to consume him. What would seem a rather harmless emotion became a deadly murderous obsession. He makes it his life mission to kill David even risking the life of his son Jonathan (1 Sam 20:33) and willing to annihilate a whole city (1 Sam 23:10) to accomplish his purpose. How did Saul come to sink so low? Armies could not have toppled him if he had remained righteous. Only one person had the power to destroy him and that person was himself. Jelousy, a seemingly harmless emotion proved to be not so harmless after all. The scriptures record that Saul came to be overcome by an evil spirit continually (1 Sam 18:10, 19:9). Through the life of Saul we can see the author of all jelousy and envy, he who sought to elevate himself above all else, not wanting anyone to have what he had. The father of all lies would have us believe that somebody else's greatness diminishes our own and that blessings others receive means blessings taken away from us. He convinces us so well that self-seeking is the path to abundance and therefore happiness. Elder Holland cites one observer who summed this up well:
"In a world that constantly compares people, ranking them as more or less intelligent, more or less attractive, more or less successful, it is not easy to really believe in a (divine) love that does not do the same. When I hear someone praised, it is hard not to think of myself as less praiseworthy; when I read about the goodness and kindness of other people, it is hard not to wonder whether I myself am as good and kind as they; and when I see trophies, rewards, and prizes being handed out to special people, I cannot avoid asking myself why that didn't happen to me." (Meridian Magazine, "The Lord Be Between Thee and Me Forever", p 2)
What leads us to these assumptions and feelings of want? Elder Holland elaborates:
"As others seem to grow larger in our sight, we think we must therefore be smaller. So unfortunately, we occasionally act that way. How does this happen, especially when we wish so much that it would not? I think one reason is that every day we see allurements of one kind or another that tell us what we have is not enough. Someone or something is forever telling us we need to be more handsome or more wealthy, more applauded or more admired than we see ourselves as being. We are told we haven't collected enough possessions or gone to enough fun places. We are bombarded with the message that on the world's scale of things we have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Some days it is as if we have been locked in a cubicle of a great and spacious building where the only thing on the TV is a never-ending soap opera entitled Vain Imaginations." (Elder Jeffrey R Holland, Meridian Magazine, "The Lord Be Between Thee and Me Forever", p. 2)
Opposite to Satan's plan to make us greedy and self-absorbed is the Saviour's plan to nurture in us the ability to become Zion people. A Zion person seeks the welfare of others and not just his own. A Zion person is one that is bound in love to his fellow beings. A very good example of this comes from the same story as Saul. It is the friendship and bond of love between his son Jonathan and David, the future king of Israel. Where his father sought to slay David, Jonathan sought to preserve his life. Jonathan was the next in line to the throne and his father warned him that as long as David lived, his kingdom will not be his (1 Sam 20:31). Jonathan however, was more interested in being faithful than in being a king. He shows that faithfulness through his friendship with David by saying: "....the Lord be between thee and me forever" (1 Sam 20:23). Whereas Saul, in cahoots with an evil spirit, seeks to take away David's life, Jonathan fueled by his faithfulness to God, seeks to preserve it. Jonathan and David share a common bond of faithfulness which binds them in friendship and love forever. Because of this bond of love, they seek each other's welfare rather than their own. The only author of such love can be God. David too shows his faithfulness to God by resisting an opportunity that delivers Saul into his hands and refuses to take his life reasoning that Saul is anointed of the Lord and that there is no evil nor transgression in his hand and would therefore not commit such wickedness (1 Sam 24:6,11,12). Had David murdered Saul in the cave in which he found him asleep he would have obtained the kingdom through the evil design of murder and not be given it by the hand of the Lord. If that had been the case, that would have been the beginning of David's demise. He could have rid himself of Saul and his dogmatic murderous pursuit forever but he would also have succumbed to the same hatred and evil that came to possess the heart of Saul and would therefore become lost. David was more interested in respecting and loving the Lord than in self-seeking and because of it he became the next king of Israel.
What blessings that come from serving others will we miss out on if we engage ourselves in self-seeking and elevating ourselves above our fellowman? Whether it is being better, having better or doing better than someone else, it is all the same. It all leads to pride which robs us of the godly nature which we need to be of benefit to our fellowman. Self-seeking has no future. It is of this world only for in celestial kingdom there will be no one that is more or has more than someone else. It will be a perfect existence with equality of heart and mind and possession. The only children of God who will be able to abide this existence will be those who love others as themselves. This is what we are here to learn most of all, to love. Without this love we cannot pass through the gates of eternity and have eternal life with God. The author of this love beckons us to follow Him and to 'pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that we may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are the true followers of his Son..." (Moroni 7:48).
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